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BackgroundAmong subjects with exercise intolerance and suspected early-stage pulmonary hypertension (PH), early identification of pulmonary vascular disease (PVD) with noninvasive methods is essential for prompt PH management.HypothesisRest gas exchange parameters (minute ventilation to carbon dioxide production ratio: VE /VCO2 and end-tidal carbon dioxide: ETCO2 ) can identify PVD in early-stage PH.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective review of 55 subjects with early-stage PH (per echocardiogram), undergoing invasive exercise hemodynamics with cardiopulmonary exercise test to distinguish exercise intolerance mechanisms. Based on the rest and exercise hemodynamics, three distinct phenotypes were defined: (1) PVD, (2) pulmonary venous hypertension, and (3) noncardiac dyspnea (no rest or exercise PH). For all tests, *p  40 mm Hg and rest ETCO2   40 mm Hg and ETCO2

Introduction: Early identification of sepsis significantly improves outcomes, suggesting a role for prehospital screening. An end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) value ≤ 25 mmHg predicts mortality and severe sepsis when used as part of a prehospital screening tool. Recently, the Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score was also derived as a tool for predicting poor outcomes in potentially septic patients.  Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study among patients transported by emergency medical services to compare the use of ETCO2 ≤ 25 mmHg with qSOFA score of ≥ 2 as a predictor of mortality or diagnosis of severe sepsis in prehospital patients with suspected sepsis.  Results: By comparison of receiver operator characteristic curves, ETCO2 had a higher discriminatory power to predict mortality, sepsis, and severe sepsis than qSOFA.  Conclusion: Both non-invasive measures were easily obtainable by prehospital personnel, with ETCO2 performing slightly better as an outcome predictor.