Clinical Technique: Use of Capnography in Small Mammal Anesthesia

Abstract

Anesthetic monitoring is becoming increasingly important in exotic pet medicine to improve quality of care and decrease morbidity and mortality. Capnography, an underused tool in veterinary medicine, provides direct information on the ventilatory status of the anesthetized patient, indirect information related to tissue perfusion and metabolism, and information on the functioning of the anesthetic machine. This article describes carbon dioxide physiology, principles of capnography, types of capnographs, basic interpretation of capnograms, potential applications of capnography, and precautions required when using this equipment with small patients.

Key words: capnography, capnogram, anesthesia, end-tidal CO₂, hypercapnea, hypocapnea