D-dimer and exhaled CO2/O2 to detect segmental pulmonary embolism in moderate-risk patients.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

Pulmonary embolism (PE) decreases the exhaled end-tidal ratio of carbon dioxide to oxygen (etCO(2)/O(2)).

Objectives

To test if the etCO(2)/O(2) can produce clinically important changes in the probability of segmental or larger PE on computerized tomography multidetector-row pulmonary angiography (MDCTPA) in a moderate-risk population with a positive D-dimer.

Methods

Emergency department and hospitalized patients with one or more predefined symptoms or signs, one or more risk factors for PE, and 64-slice MDCTPA enrolled from four hospitals. D-dimer greater than 499 ng/ml was test(+), and D-dimer less than 500 ng/ml was test(-). The median etCO(2)/O(2) less than 0.28 from seven or more breaths was test(+) and etCO(2)/O(2) greater than 0.45 was test(-). MDCTPA

SUBMITTER: Kline JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2937237 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature