title: Capnography monitoring in nonintubated patients with respiratory distress.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: SAMU 94, Henri Mondor University Hospital (AP-HP), 94000 Créteil, France.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jabre
authors.forename: Line
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jacob
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Auger
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jaulin
authors.forename: Mélanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monribot
authors.forename: Amandine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aurore
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Margenet
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marty
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Combes
mesh_terms: 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