title: The PEP respiratory monitor: a validation study.
abstract: The search for a reliable and accurate respiratory rate monitor for use in non-intubated patients has proved to be a long and fruitless one. A new device fulfilling the criteria for such a monitor has recently been described. The pyroelectric polymer (PEP) device is safe, non-invasive, and cheap. In this study the PEP device, transthoracic impedance, and standard observer counting were all compared with the existing gold standard of capnography in 12 healthy adult volunteers. Using a standard statistical technique it was shown that the PEP device performed as well as a capnograph and was more accurate than the other currently available methods of monitoring respiratory rate.
authors.affiliation: Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust, Salford, UK.
authors.forename: C N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Brookes
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Whittaker
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moulton
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dodds
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019296:Capnography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D015656:Respiratory Mechanics; D014159:Transducers