J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2021 Dec;32(6):570-574.

The clinical utility of end tidal carbon dioxide in hyperventilation syndrome patients in emergency department

• Byun I
• Kim YS
• Ha YR
• Shin TY
• Jeong R
• Lee KH
• Yu W

Abstract

Objective
Arterial blood gas analysis (ABGA) is routinely performed in hyperventilation syndrome (HVS) patients in the emergency department (ED). We tried to substitute end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO₂) for arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO₂) in HVS patients in ED.
Methods
It was a prospective observational cohort study of HVS patients from May 2019 to March 2020. Data of age, sex, vital sign, ETCO₂ and ABGA were collected. We compared the Pearson correlation between ETCO₂ and PaCO₂.
Results
A total of 135 HVS patients were included in the study. The average value for ETCO₂ was 24.9±7.2. It showed a significant linear between ETCO₂ and PaCO₂. The Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.893 (P<0.001). The linear correlation coefficients of ETCO₂ <20 mmHg and ETCO₂ 20-35 mmHg groups were 0.513 and 0.827, respectively (P<0.001).
Conclusion
We suggest that ABGA can be replaced by ETCO₂ in HVS patients in ED.

Keyword

ETCO₂; Hyperventilation syndrome; Emergency department; Arterial blood gas analysis