CO2 measurement for the early differential diagnosis of shock at the emergency department: a case series.
(2015) Annual congress of the Belgian Society of Emergency and Disaster Medicine — Location: Brussels
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- Abstract
- Objective: An early differential diagnosis is mandatory when facing a patient with clinical shock of unclear aetiology, in order to guide proper treatment. We assessed if the expired CO2 measurement and alveolar-arterial CO2 calculation could improve the differential diagnosis of shock during its initial presentation, particularly in separating pulmonary embolism from other causes of shock. Methods: We analysed the charts of 12 patients who presented with clinical shock and had end-tidal CO2 (EtCO2) and arterial CO2 partial pressure (PaCO2) measurements. Results: In cases with pulmonary embolism-related shock (n ¼ 3), the gradient between PaCO2 and EtCO2 was increased (37 vs 0.2 mmHg). There was a similar trend for a higher PaCO2 value (60 vs 32.2 mmHg) and a lower EtCO2 value (23 vs 32 mmHg). Conclusion: An initial CO2 measurement might be an easily available tool for the early diagnostic workup of clinical shock.
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van Marcke de Lummen, C. J., DAOUDIA, A., Penaloza-Baeza, A., & Verschuren, F. (2015). CO2 measurement for the early differential diagnosis of shock at the emergency department: a case series. Annual congress of the Belgian Society of Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Brussels. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/182321