A new method for studying the ventilatory response in patients.

Abstract

A method for clinical studies of the ventilatory response to carbon dioxide and to hypoxaemia in patients is described. The main parameters with this method are respiratory frequency, tidal volume, minute volume, timing, and drive. The ventilation of volunteers was not affected while breathing air through the designed apparatus. The response to carbon dioxide and to hypoxaemia in volunteers was reproducible and similar to what has previously been described. Our method proved suitable to test the ventilatory responses in patients with varying degrees of impaired ventilation-perfusion ratios and thus also in patients with a low PaO2. Our method has a higher accuracy than earlier methods.