Capnography as a tool for triaging and diagnosis of diabetic ketoacidosis in the emergency department: A prospective observational study.

Objectives: The cornerstone of management of acidosis in a patient with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) has traditionally been carried out by blood gas analysis, which is expensive and associated with significant risk. It is against this background that the correlation between end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO), blood pH, and EtCO bicarbonate levels was analyzed. The predictive value of EtCO was also analyzed in the diagnosis of DKA.