Correlation Between the End-Tidal CO2 (EtCO2) and Decreased Cardiac Output Measured by Ultrasonic Cardiac Output Monitor (USCOM) for Intubated Patients in ICU

Background: assessment of cardiac output is crucial in management of critical ill patients. Various types of tool are available to measure cardiac output. However, most has limitations such as invasive, expensive, and require special skill. Assessment of End-tidal Carbon Dioxide (EtCO2) is expected to be used as an alternative estimation of cardiac output. It is based on the condition that when cardiac output is decreased, it decreased pulmonary blood flow and diffusion of CO2 into the alveolar, thereby increasing alveolar dead space and lowering EtCO2. Objective: to find a correlation between EtCO2 and decreased cardiac output measured by Ultrasonic Cardiac Output Monitor (USCOM) for intubated patients in ICU of Sanglah General Hospital, Denpasar, Bali. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, the correlation test conducted from June to August 2016 in ICU ofSanglah Hospital. The study involved 75 patients who eligible with a total population sampling technique. Intubated patients admitted to the ICU were evaluated for EtCO2 and USCOM in the first 24 hours by the researchers simultaneously. Shapiro-Francia test was used for normality and Pearson’s correlation tests was used to measure the correlations between variables. Results: The EtCO2 value obtained was positively correlated with cardiac output values (r = 0.373; p 0.001). Conclusion: there is a correlation between EtCO2 and decreased cardiac output measured by USCOM for intubated patients in ICU of Sanglah General Hospital, Denpasar Keywords: End-tidal CO2, cardiac output, USCOM, correlation.