Background: Volumetric capnography is increasingly being applied in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.However, during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the abnormal ventilation state affects the monitoring effect of the most commonly used capnography-derived parameter, the partial carbon dioxide end-tidal pressure (PetCO 2 ). In this study, we evaluated the ability of a new volumetric capnography-derived parameter, the ratio between the PetCO 2 and the volume of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) eliminated per min and per kilogram of body weight, for detecting hyperventilation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Methods: We used 12 porcine models of primary ventricular fibrillation-induced cardiac arrest. Ventricular fibrillation was induced and left untreated for 4 min. Standardized chest compressions were performed throughout the experiment using mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Following 5 min of normal ventilation as a washout period, each animal underwent 4 types of ventilation. The main outcome measures were the PetCO 2 , the ratio between the PetCO 2 and the volume of CO 2 eliminated per min and per kilogram of body weight with each ventilation type. Results: Different ventilation types had a significant effect on the volumetric capnography-derived parameters. The PetCO 2 and ratio between the PetCO 2 and the volume of CO 2 eliminated per min and per kilogram of body weight values during cardiopulmonary resuscitation was significantly higher in non-hyperventilating than in hyperventilating animals. The ratio reflected hyperventilation accuratelyand immediately, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.98. The optimal cut-off point of the ratio for discriminating hyperventilation from non-hyperventilation was 6.36, with a sensitivity and specificity of 0.99 and 0.89, respectively.
Conclusions:The ratio between the PetCO 2 and the volume of CO 2 eliminated per min and per kilogram of body weight showed good performance in discriminating hyperventilation from non-hyperventilation and was sensitive to changes in ventilation status. This ratio may be a valuable clinical indicator for monitoring the ventilation status during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.