Capnography and Gastroenteritis

End-tidal carbon dioxide as a measure of acidosis among children with gastroenteritis

Pediatrics. 2006 Jul;118(1):260-7
Nagler J, Wright RO, Krauss B.

CONCLUSIONS: End-tidal carbon dioxide levels were correlated with serum bicarbonate concentrations among children with vomiting and diarrhea, independent of other clinical parameters. Capnography offers an objective noninvasive measure of the severity of acidosis among patients with gastroenteritis.

Bottom Line for EMS: Another possible use for capnography. (I have only read the abstract of this article. I will be trying to get a copy of the whole article to get a better understanding of this.)