• Stephen H Thomas, Janet Orf, Suzanne K Wedel, and Alasdair K Conn.
• Boston MedFlight Critical Care Transport Service, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. thomas.stephen@mgh.harvard.edu
• J Trauma. 2002 Jan 1;52(1):47-52; discussion 52-3.

BackgroundThis study assessed patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) to determine whether prehospital and community hospital providers employed hyperventilation therapy inconsistent with consensus recommendation against its routine use.MethodsThis prospective analysis of 37 intubated TBI patients without herniation, undergoing helicopter transport to an urban Level I center, entailed flight crews' noting of assisted ventilation rate (AVR) and end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) upon their arrival at trauma scenes or community hospitals. A priori-set levels of AVR and ETCO2 were used to assess frequency of guideline-inconsistent hyperventilation, and Fisher's exact and Kruskal-Wallis tests assessed association between guideline-inconsistent hyperventilation and manual vs. mechanical ventilation mode.ResultsInappropriately high AVR and low ETCO2 were seen in 60% and 70% of patients, respectively. Manual ventilation was associated with guideline-inconsistent hyperventilation assessed by AVR (p = 0.038) and ETCO2 (p = 0.022).ConclusionPrehospital and community hospital hyperventilation practices are not consistent with consensus recommendations for limitation of hyperventilation therapy.

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