Abstract: Objective: To examine the effect of End-Tidal Carbon Dioxide Partial Pressure (PETCO2) monitoring in indwelling gastric tube of comatose patients. Methods: Following convenient sampling, a totall of 44 comatose patients in the Emergency Intensive Care Unit were enrolled in the study, and they were equally divided into control group (n=22) and intervention group (n=22). In the control group, the gastric tubes were placed in the traditional way. In the intervention group, the gastric tubes were implanted under the monitoring of PETCO2. The time spent on indwelling a gastric tube, the one-time intubation success rate, hemodynamic changes and incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two methods. Results: All 44 patients were successfully intubated with the indwelling gastric tubes. The time spent on indwelling a gastric tube in the intervention group [(4.87±1.03) min] was shorter than that in the control group [(7.22±2.51) min] (P<0.05), and the one-time intubation success rate of the intervention group (63.64%) was higher than that of the control group (50.00%). The fluctuation values of heart rate, respiration, blood oxygen saturation, and mean arterial pressure in the intervention group during gastric tube intubation were smaller than those in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The incidence of coughing, nausea and vomiting in the intervention group (4.55%, 13.64%) was lower than that in the control group (31.82%, 45.45%) (P<0.05). Conclusion: According to our results, the placement of the gastric tube in comatose patients with PETCO2 monitoring can not only reduce possible adverse stimulation, but also can efficiently and effectively assist nurses to determine the positioning of a gastric tube. Thus, the placement of the gastric tube in comatose patients with PETCO2 monitoring could improve the work efficiency of nurses and reduce complications.

Key words: End-Tidal Carbon Dioxide Partial Pressure; monitoring; comatose patients; indwelling gastric tube