Capnography for small clinics is usually treated as optional. The reasoning sounds sensible. We are a small setup. We do simple cases. We have a pulse oximeter. Capnography is for big hospitals. The evidence says the opposite. Smaller settings carry

Capnography troubleshooting begins with a rule that matters more than any fix in this guide: check the patient before you blame the monitor. Most capnography problems are simple, and most have a quick remedy. But the one mistake that hurts

A low EtCO2 means carbon dioxide is not reaching the lungs, or is being blown off faster than the body makes it. The number sits below 35 mmHg, and the reason is one of four things. This matters more urgently

A high EtCO2 means carbon dioxide is building up faster than the patient is clearing it. The number sits above 45 mmHg, and something in the balance between production, clearance and rebreathing has shifted. That is the useful way to

Colorimetric vs waveform capnography is a choice between a yes-or-no answer and a continuous picture. A colorimetric detector is a small disposable device that changes colour when it meets carbon dioxide. A portable capnometer measures the CO2 and shows it

Post-operative capnography protects the patient during one of the most dangerous transitions in their care: waking up from anaesthesia. In theatre, every breath is watched. In the recovery room and on the ward, monitoring gets lighter, just as the effects

What is EtCO2? In simple terms, it is the level of carbon dioxide at the end of a breath out, and it is one of the most useful numbers in patient monitoring. Every time a patient exhales, they breathe out

A rising or falling EtCO2 is one of the most useful early warnings in monitoring, and one of the easiest to misread. The number tells you something has changed. The pattern of the change tells you what. The single most

Paediatric capnography is one of the most valuable monitors in a child’s care, and one of the trickiest to get right. Children are not small adults. They breathe fast, with small breaths, and the margins for error are narrow. That

Capnography response time is how quickly the monitor reflects a real change in the patient’s breath. It sounds like a technical detail. In practice it decides whether the waveform you see is accurate, and how fast you learn that something