Carbon Dioxide Absorbers

Case Synopsis

A 75-year-old woman with perforated diverticulitis is undergoing a laparoscopic hemicolectomy under general anesthesia. The patient’s abdomen has been insufflated with CO ₂ to a pressure of 15 to 20 mm Hg for 45 minutes. The end-tidal CO ₂ is observed to rise to 50 mm Hg without any adjustment made in the minute ventilation during this time. Over the last 15 minutes, the end-tidal CO ₂ has increased to 55 mm Hg, and the inspired CO ₂ , which had been zero, has gradually increased to 6 mm Hg. Examination of the CO ₂ absorber canister shows no color change in the absorbent.