Safety of Carbon Dioxide Insufflation during Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Background: Pulmonary dysfunction often accompanies esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Aims: This study examined the use of carbon dioxide (CO₂) insufflation and its safety during esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) while under conscious sedation. Methods: ESD using CO₂ insufflation (1.4 L/min) was performed in 102 consecutive esophageal SCC patients. Patients with a forced expiratory volume of 1.0 s/forced vital capacity (FEV_1.0%) < 70% or a vital capacity < 80% were defined as having pulmonary dysfunction. Transcutaneous partial pressure of CO₂ (PtcCO₂) was recorded before, during, and after ESD. Results: A history of smoking was found in 90 patients (88%), while 43 patients (42%) had pulmonary dysfunction. No significant differences were found between the pulmonary dysfunction and normal groups for the baseline PtcCO₂ before ESD, peak PtcCO₂ during ESD, and median PtcCO₂ after ESD. There was a significant correlation between the PtcCO₂ elevation from baseline and the ESD procedure time (r = 0.32, p < 0.01), with the correlation for the pulmonary dysfunction group much stronger (r = 0.39, p < 0.05) than that for the normal group (r = 0.30, p < 0.01). Neither of the groups exhibited any differences for either the complication incidence or the hospital stay. Conclusions: Although the use of CO₂ insufflation during esophageal ESD under conscious sedation is safe with regard to the risk of complications, longer procedure times can potentially induce CO₂ retention in patients with obstructive lung disease. Thus, it is necessary to both shorten the procedure times and perform CO₂ monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]