Continous Cardiac Output - Non-Invasive Evaluation (CONNIE)

"Expired carbon dioxide is measured with a mainstream infrared sensor (Capnostat-3, Respironics Inc, Wallingford, CT, USA) and gas flow analysed with the flow sensor incorporated in the ventilator (Servo-i, Maquet Critical Care, Solna, Sweden) which was connected to a computer where all the mathematical analysis is carried out with a software written in Matlab™ (The Mathworks Inc, Natick, MA, USA).~Instead of a fixed ratio between inspiration and expiration, three breaths out of every nine are prolonged with a 3-4 seconds longer expiration creating small changes in end- expiratory CO2"

Each cardiac output measurement comprises an average of three thermodilutions performed successively one after another. TPTD is performed with a PiCCO2 monitor (Pulsion Medical Systems SE, Feldkirchen, Germany)