Having newly returned to the field, capnography is foreign to me so I have a few questions. I don't think it's enough of a highjack to start a new thread so here goes:
Doesn't placement of a colormetric device and the use of an electronic device, that generates a waveform, really serve different purposes? They both would indicated successful tube placement yes, but don't the waveform devices give a whole different range of information?
Second - to settle an arguement with the missus, isn't a colormetric a capnographic device by the strictest interpretation of the definition of capnography? The books and the definitions that I check indicate that it is, but the missus insists that capnography only applies to the electronic devices that generate a waveform. I think that is what the word has come to mean in common day practice.
Finally, specifically to directed to Smash, why would you withold RSI if you didn't have capnography available to you? If the patient needs intubated they need intubated. Right?
I've personally not been able to place a tube in the field (multiple times to be sure), but I have never placed a tube in the esophagus, ventilated through it and remained unaware that I had misplaced it. The colormetrics were just coming into common use when I went on hiatus, they are indeed an excellent tool, but I would never have not attempted a tube placement because they weren't available, thus I carry the thought forward - I wouldn't withhold an intubation attempt because electronic capnography wasn't available.
Is there a different view on the issue that would be valuable?
