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Welcome to the Atomic Anesthesia podcast hosted by CRNA professor Dr. Rhea Temmermand and Co-Founder Sachi Lord. On this show, you'll hear clear, clinically grounded discussions designed for nurse anesthesia residents and CRNAs who want to feel more confident in complex pharmacology, physiology, and real-world anesthesia decision-making.
Every capnogram reports on three things at once: metabolism, circulation and ventilation. Change any one of them and the waveform changes. In this members-only Week 4 episode of our 12-week SEE/NCE series, we learn to read the normal waveform, then name the abnormal ones, with a worksheet to practice on.
In this episode:
- Capnometry vs capnography, and sidestream vs mainstream monitorsThe normal capnogram: phases I to III and the alpha and beta anglesETCO2 vs PaCO2, and hypoventilation vs hyperventilationBronchospasm and obstructionWhen the baseline won't return to zero: rebreathing, an exhausted absorber, incompetent valvesWhen CO2 disappears: esophageal intubation, disconnection and sudden cardiovascular collapseThe curare cleft, and a method for reading any capnogram
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