OBJECTIVE To assess ventilation/perfusion mismatch with high ventilation/perfusion ratios (i.e., alveolar deadspace) and to assess capnography as a noninvasive method of monitoring ventilation after bilateral lung transplantation. METHODS Clinical, prospective study. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was done to assess the time course of the arterial to end-tidal CO2 tension difference. METHODS University hospital operating theater and intensive care unit. METHODS Seven consecutive patients aged 25 to 64 yrs who underwent bilateral lung transplantation for end-stage lung disease. METHODS None. RESULTS The arterial to end-tidal CO2 tension difference was determined using infrared absorption capnography during postoperative day 1. Measurements were done at 10 mins, and at 1, 3, 12, and 24 hrs after bilateral lung transplantation (timing of measurements determined from the time when both lungs were perfused and mechanically ventilated). An arterial to end-tidal CO2 tension difference, ranging from 6 to 21 torr (0.8 to 2.8 kPa), mean 16 +/- 5 torr (2.2 +/- 0.7 kPa), was observed immediately after the transplantation. This difference rapidly decreased to 9 +/- 4 torr (1.2 +/- 0.6 kPa; p < .01) after 3 hrs and to 5 +/- 3 torr (0.6 +/- 0.4 kPa; p < .01) after 24 hrs. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest marked alveolar deadspace ventilation immediately after bilateral lung transplantation. The presence and rapid improvement of this ventilation/perfusion mismatch may reflect the presence of ischemia-reperfusion lung injury and its improvement in the first hours of reperfusion. In five of seven patients, capnography was not a good measure of PaCO2 during the first hours after bilateral lung transplantation.