Capnography monitoring in nonintubated patients with respiratory distress.
OBJECTIVE
The objective was to assess agreement between end-tidal carbon dioxide values measured by a handheld capnometer (Petco(2)) and values measured by a blood gas analyzer (Paco(2)) in nonintubated patients with respiratory distress in an out-of-hospital setting.


METHODS
This prospective study compared Petco(2) values obtained by an end-tidal capnometer (Microcap Plus; Oridion Capnography Inc, Needham, Mass) to Paco(2) values by the Bland and Altman statistical method.


RESULTS
A total of 50 patients were included. Continuous Petco(2) monitoring was easily performed in all 50 patients during ambulance transport, but blood gas analysis failed in 1 patient. Agreement between the 2 methods was poor with a bias (mean difference) between Petco(2) and Paco(2) measurements of 12 mm Hg and a precision (SD of the difference) of 8 mm Hg. The gradient between Petco(2) and Paco(2) was greater than 5 and 10 mm Hg in 41 and 25 patients, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Petco(2) measurements poorly reflected Paco(2) values in our population of nonintubated patients with respiratory distress of various origins.
Jabre
Patricia
P
SAMU 94, Henri Mondor University Hospital (AP-HP), 94000 Créteil, France.
Jacob
Line
L
Auger
Harold
H
Jaulin
Christine
C
Monribot
Mélanie
M
Aurore
Amandine
A
Margenet
Alain
A
Marty
Jean
J
Combes
Xavier
X
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D019296:Capnography; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013990:Tidal Volume