Capnography Useful in Identifying Patients with Diabetic Ketoacidosis

To determine whether capnography can be used to determine the acid/base status of emergency department patients with hyperglycemia, researchers in Iran measured blood glucose, urine ketones, arterial blood gases, and capnography in 181 adult patients with blood glucose levels >250 mg/dL and suspected diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).

Sixty-two patients had DKA, defined as blood glucose ≥250 mg/dL, ketonuria, and metabolic acidosis (pH<7.3 or blood bicarbonate levels <15 meq/dL). End tidal CO₂ values >24.5 mm Hg had a sensitivity and specificity of 0.90 for ruling out DKA.