Ventilatory response to inspired carbon dioxide in infants and adults

Abstract

A rebreathing method was used to study the increase in ventilation with an increase in PaCOCO2 in newborn infants and adults. The response curve of infants was shifted to the left of that of adults, which is consistent with their lower initial PaCOCO2 and buffer base, and greater metabolism per kilogram of body weight. The rebreathing response curves of infants were also to the left of steady-state responses reported by others. It is postulated that nonchemical stimuli caused higher ventilation throughout the entire range of the CO2 response curves in the infants studied by rebreathing without altering the sensitivity to increases in Pco2. The change in ventilation per kilogram versus the change in PaCOCO2, the slopes of the CO2 response curves, were nearly the same in infants and adults studied by either method. This finding, when the comparison is made on the basis of body weight, suggests the sensitivity of the regulatory apparatus does not change with age, and the output of the effector apparatus, lungs and chest wall, is related to the mass of the individual. CO2 response curves; nonchemical stimuli; chemical stimuli; respiration Submitted on February 19, 1963