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Clinical Trial
. 2021 May 18;16(5):e0251511.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251511. eCollection 2021.

Assessment of the evolution of end-tidal carbon dioxide within chest compression pauses to detect restoration of spontaneous circulation

Jose Julio Gutiérrez  1 , Mikel Leturiondo  1 , Sofía Ruiz de Gauna  1 , Jesus María Ruiz  1 , Izaskun Azcarate  1 , Digna María González-Otero  1   2 , Juan Francisco Urtusagasti  3 , James Knox Russell  4 , Mohamud Ramzan Daya  4
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Assessment of the evolution of end-tidal carbon dioxide within chest compression pauses to detect restoration of spontaneous circulation

Jose Julio Gutiérrez et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Measurement of end-tidal CO2 (ETCO2) can help to monitor circulation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). However, early detection of restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) during CPR using waveform capnography remains a challenge. The aim of the study was to investigate if the assessment of ETCO2 variation during chest compression pauses could allow for ROSC detection. We hypothesized that a decay in ETCO2 during a compression pause indicates no ROSC while a constant or increasing ETCO2 indicates ROSC.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) episodes treated by the advanced life support (ALS). Continuous chest compressions and ventilations were provided manually. Segments of capnography signal during pauses in chest compressions were selected, including at least three ventilations and with durations less than 20 s. Segments were classified as ROSC or non-ROSC according to case chart annotation and examination of the ECG and transthoracic impedance signals. The percentage variation of ETCO2 between consecutive ventilations was computed and its average value, ΔETavg, was used as a single feature to discriminate between ROSC and non-ROSC segments.

Results: A total of 384 segments (130 ROSC, 254 non-ROSC) from 205 OHCA patients (30.7% female, median age 66) were analyzed. Median (IQR) duration was 16.3 (12.9,18.1) s. ΔETavg was 0.0 (-0.7, 0.9)% for ROSC segments and -11.0 (-14.1, -8.0)% for non-ROSC segments (p < 0.0001). Best performance for ROSC detection yielded a sensitivity of 95.4% (95% CI: 90.1%, 98.1%) and a specificity of 94.9% (91.4%, 97.1%) for all ventilations in the segment. For the first 2 ventilations, duration was 7.7 (6.0, 10.2) s, and sensitivity and specificity were 90.0% (83.5%, 94.2%) and 89.4 (84.9%, 92.6%), respectively. Our method allowed for ROSC detection during the first compression pause in 95.4% of the patients.

Conclusion: Average percent variation of ETCO2 during pauses in chest compressions allowed for ROSC discrimination. This metric could help confirm ROSC during compression pauses in ALS settings.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author DMGO is employed by Bexen Cardio, a Spanish medical device manufacturer. Bexen Cardio had no additional role in study funding, or study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. The other authors declare that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Examples of segment annotation.
(A) ROSC segment and (B) non-ROSC (PEA) segment. Capnogram, compression depth, ECG and transthoracic impedance (TTI) signals are depicted for each segment.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Flowchart of episode selection.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Illustration of the behavior of ΔETavg.
ROSC (A) and non-ROSC (B) capnogram segments with different ΔETavg values.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Statistical distributions for ROSC and non-ROSC segments.
Initial ETCO2 (ET0), ventilation rate (vr), and average variation (ΔETavg) for all ROSC and non-ROSC segments included in the study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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