A medical monitoring system for identifying an end-exhalation carbon dioxide value of enhanced clinical utility is described herein. The medical monitoring system can include a capnometer for generating an output corresponding to a time-series of exhaled carbon dioxide values from a patient during an exhalation and a processor programmed to analyze the exhalation. In some examples, the processor can also be programmed to identify a peak carbon dioxide value at an end of the exhalation, determine if the peak carbon dioxide value may have been higher if the exhalation had been prolonged, and provide an output responsive to said determination.
