Association of Intraoperative End-Tidal CO₂, Ventilation, and Hypotension With Postoperative Mortality in Noncardiac Surgery: A Retrospective Cohort Study

The authors aimed to determine whether low intraoperative end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETco₂) levels are independently associated with increased postoperative mortality in noncardiac surgery, accounting for the effects of intraoperative hypotension and minute ventilation. Their retrospective cohort study of over 185,000 patients found that lower ETco₂ was significantly linked to higher in-hospital mortality, independent of these factors, suggesting that ETco₂ may serve as a valuable marker for assessing postoperative risk.