Abstract
We present a case of severe postoperative hypercarbia in a patient with severe COPD. Hypercarbia and respiratory acidosis continued to increase despite maximal ventilation, bronchodilator therapy, sedation, and paralysis. Mistaken use of non-partitioned ventilator circuit was the cause of the hypercarbia. The ventilator's self-test function failed to detect the error. We changed to a partitioned-lumen circuit, with much less ventilation dead space, and the hypercarbia resolved immediately.
Footnotes
- Correspondence: Mohammad Helwani MD, Department of Anesthesiology, Saint Louis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 915 North Grand Street, Louis MO 63106. E-mail: helwanim{at}gmail.com.
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The authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest.
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