Background
Laparoscopic surgery has several benefits, but it requires prolonged carbon dioxide (CO
2
) insufflation. Several factors affect the accuracy of continuous and noninvasive hemoglobin (SpHb) monitoring, but the effects of CO
2
insufflation are undetermined. This study investigated the effect of CO
2
insufflation on SpHb monitoring in laparoscopic surgery.
Material/Methods
Twenty patients undergoing laparoscopic gastrectomy were enrolled. Anesthesia was maintained using sevoflurane and remifentanil within an end-tidal CO
2
of 30–45 mmHg. The CO
2
insufflation was maintained at 12 mmHg using CO
2
. SpHb was monitored with a Radical-7 Pulse CO-Oximeter, and laboratory hemoglobin (tHb) was analyzed using a satellite blood analyzer.
Results
Forty paired measurements were analyzed. The mean perfusion index, SpHb, and tHb were 3.10±1.77%, 10.92±1.48 g/dL, and 11.51±0.88 g/dL, respectively. SpHb underestimated tHb with a bias (precision) of −0.59 (1.28 g/dL), and the 95% limit of agreement was wide (−3.11 to 1.92 g/dL). SpHb was moderately correlated with tHb (
r
=0.50, 95% CI: 0.23 to 0.70). The concordance rate was 67%. ΔSpHb was not correlated with ΔtHb (
r
=0.29, 95% CI: −0.18 to −0.65). A similar bias, wider limits of agreement, a higher |SpHb-tHb|, but more significant correlation between SpHb and tHb were observed for the “PaCO
2
<40 mmHg” range compared with the “40 mmHg ≤PaCO
2
” range.
Conclusions
SpHb may have an acceptable accuracy but has a weak trending ability in the presence of CO
2
insufflation, and it can be affected by PaCO
2
. Further research on the effects of CO
2
insufflation on SpHb is needed.