Published in:
17-04-2024 | Correspondence
Relationship between the arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide and outcomes in mechanically ventilated acute brain‑injured patients
Authors:
Patrick Schober, Sebastiaan M. Bossers, Carolien S. E. Bulte, Stephan A. Loer, Lothar A. Schwarte
Published in:
Intensive Care Medicine
|
Issue 5/2024
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Excerpt
Robba and colleagues recently studied the relationship between the arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO
2) and outcomes in mechanically ventilated acute brain-injured patients [
1]. We commend the authors for this excellent study addressing the controversial topic of optimal ventilation targets in this patient population, but we believe that the conclusions merit further discussion. The authors claim that only severe hypocapnia and hypercapnia are associated with an increased probability of in-hospital mortality and conclude explicitly that mild hypocapnia does not affect patients’ outcome. However, the safety of mild hypocapnia has not been demonstrated in this study. …
