Oxygen and carbon dioxide monitoring during sleep

Monitoring of oxygen and carbon dioxide (CO2) is of crucial importance during sleep-disordered breathing in order to assess the consequences of respiratory events on gas exchange. Pulse oximetry (SpO2) is a simple and cheap method that is used routinely for the recording of oxygen levels and the diagnosis of hypoxemia. CO2 recording is necessary for the diagnosis of alveolar hypoventilation and can be performed by means of the end-tidal (PetCO2) or transcutaneous CO2 (PtcCO2). However, the monitoring of CO2 is not performed on a routine basis due to the lack of simple, cheap and reliable CO2 monitors. This short review summarizes some technical aspects of gas exchange recording during sleep in children before discussing the different definitions of alveolar hypoventilation and the importance of CO2 recording.