TY - JOUR T1 - Use of Non-Partitioned Ventilator Tubing Results in Dead-Space Ventilation Hypercarbia JF - Respiratory Care SP - 698 LP - 701 DO - 10.4187/respcare.01017 VL - 56 IS - 5 AU - Bassem O Asaad AU - Mohammad Helwani AU - David M Wheeler AU - Michael S O'Connor Y1 - 2011/05/01 UR - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/56/5/698.abstract N2 - 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. ER -