The utility of capnography in determining the risk of major cardiac adverse events in patients with atypical chest pain

Introduction

Various scoring systems have been developed to safely rule out the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome. Furthermore, the efficacy of these scoring systems in predicting the risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) is debated. Our aim was to compare parameters such as Integrated Pulmonary Index (IPI) and End Tidal Carbon Dioxide (etCO2) measured in the emergency department with the HEART score in terms of its success in predicting the risk of major adverse cardiac events.

Method

Patients with atypical chest pain were registered for the study by the emergency room physician. The patients were investigated regarding gender, age, background characteristics, prognostic accuracy of etCO2, IPI, MACE, and HEART scores.

Results

As a result of the analysis, higher HEART Score and lower etCO2 values were determined in the MACE group compared to the group without MACE. ROC analysis was performed to determine the power of IPI, HEART Score, and etCO2 to predict MACE. The findings revealed that IPI significantly predicted MACE with an AUC value of 0.737.

Conclusion

In our study, although the highest sensitivity values in determining the risk of 30-day MACE belonged to the HEART score, etCO2 and IPI might be other parameters that could be used to determine the risk of 30-day MACE.