Exploring the benefits of ExSpiron 2Xi in regional anesthesia

Spital Zweisimmen is a regional hospital in Switzerland where many procedures are performed during regional anesthesia, also for complex procedures when sedation is required. The hospital has been looking for ways to improve the control for depth of sedation and has employed ExSpiron 2Xi to assess its potential of enhancing their clinical practice. 

Daniel Hediger is the Head of Anaesthesia Nursing at Spital Zweisimmen. In this Q&A, he is sharing his experience.

We are testing ExSpiron 2Xi for non-invasive monitoring of respiratory volume because we very often perform procedures using regional anesthesia at our regional hospital, even for more complex procedures. Sedation is often necessary for various reasons. In most cases, we use a CO2 measurement in the case of spontaneous breathing. ExSpiron 2Xi enables precise, easy-to-use monitoring.
 

In addition to the standard parameters such as SpO2, blood pressure and ECG, we would like to monitor respiratory minute ventilation, tidal volume and respiratory rate with the precise impedance measurement that the system measures through the patient sensor instead of the inspired and expired CO2. 

The defined predicted respiratory minute volume allows us to precisely control the depth of sedation.

During the evaluation phase, we were able to optimize the sedation and adjust it safely. The minute ventilation trend is very accurate and reliable thanks to bioelectrical impedance measurement. Changes in respiration due to sedation are immediately visible on the monitor.

I would say all patients who want sedation in addition to regional anesthesia. Especially in older people with longer intervention times or patients with respiratory impairments, monitoring respiratory parameters can significantly improve the control of sedation.

With the use of ExSpiron 2Xi, we can better control and optimize the drugs for sedation reducing the use of medication and saving costs. In addition, the monitor can follow the patient to the ward after the procedure if necessary. In this way, changeover times in the operating room can be optimized. Monitoring can also provide flexible and quick use in the emergency ward, for example to monitor patients with intoxication in which breathing must be closely monitored. Due to its compact size, ExSpiron 2Xi can be used quickly and easily anywhere in the hospital. In this way, it also helps us to optimize human resources.