Capnography is very good monitor tool for critically ill patients. It has shown great potential in several conditions and procedures in critical care medicine. Literature exists for its use in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, intubation for confirmation of ETT placement, resuscitation of critically ill patients with sepsis, monitoring response to treatment in patients with respiratory distress (specifically COPD, CHF, and asthma), pulmonary embolism, and procedural sedation.
The above capnography graph shows evidence of mild obstruction in addition to waves of incomplete exhalations as they are interrupted with inspiratory efforts due to a high respiratory drive of the patient. Not the corresponding early inspiratory efforts on the pressure and volume scalars of the same patien.
