• Melih Yüksel, Murat Pekdemir, Serkan Yilmaz, Elif Yaka, and Aslı Gülfer Kartal.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Diyarbakır Research and Training Hospital, Diyarbakır, Turkey.
• Turk J Med Sci. 2016 Jan 5; 46 (1): 84-90.

Background/AimPulmonary embolism (PE) is a frequent health problem representing a diagnostic challenge with high mortality and morbidity rates. The aim of this study was to investigate the value of end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) and alveolar dead space fraction (ADSF) in the diagnosis of PE.Materials And MethodsETCO2 levels of patients with suspected PE were measured with a noninvasive mainstream sensor. ADSF of patients was calculated and PaCO2 levels were also obtained. ROC curve analysis was used to determine diagnostic values of ETCO2 and ADSF for PE.ResultsThe study included 159 patients. The mean values for ETCO2 and ADSF were 16.27 (95% CI, 14.52-18.03) and 0.48 (95% CI, 0.43-0.539) in the PE group and 21.57 (95% CI, 20.52-22.639) and 0.35 (95% CI, 0.32-0.38) in the non-PE group. The area under the curve (AUC) and the cut-off point for ETCO2 were found as 0.751 and ≤19, with 83.8% sensitivity and 61.5% specificity. AUC and cut-off point for ADSF were found as 0.738 and >0.443, with 67.57% sensitivity and 73.77% specificity.ConclusionThe diagnostic value of calculated ADSF and noninvasive bedside ETCO2 for PE was found to be low.

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