Addressing Assumptions for the Use of Non-invasive Cardiac Output Measurement Techniques During Exercise in COPD.

This study show that in COPD patients, CO2-rebreathing Qc values obtained using PaCO2 contents which account for any gas exchange impairment or inadequate gas mixing are similar to those obtained using thoracic bioimpedance. Alternately, the lower values for N2O rebreathing derived Qc indicates the inability of this technique to account for gas exchange impairment in the computation of Qc. These findings indicate that the choice of a gas rebreathing technique to measure Qc in patients must be dictated by the ability to include in the derived computations a correction for either gas exchange inadequacies and/or a vascular shunt. PMID: 26408087 [PubMed - in process]
Source: COPD: Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - Category: Respiratory Medicine Tags: COPD Source Type: research