End tidal carbon dioxide as a predictor of the arterial PCO2 in the emergency department setting

摘要

Objectives: Patients arriving in the emergency department (ED) need rapid and reliable evaluation of their respiratory status. Mainstream end tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) is one of the methods used for this purpose during general anaesthesia of intubated patients in the operating theatre. Sidestream ETCO2 (SSETCO2) might be a non-invasive, rapid, and reliable predictor of arterial PCO2 in non-intubated patients in respiratory distress. The aim of this study was to verify whether SSETCO2 can accurately predict the arterial PCO2 and to detect variables that may affect this correlation.