Identifying Emergency Department Patients with Chest Pain Who Are At
Identifying Emergency Department July 2017 Volume 19, Number 7 Patients With Chest Pain who are Author David Markel, MD at Low Risk for Acute Coronary Attending Physician, Tacoma Emergency Care Physicians, Tacoma, WA Peer Reviewers Syndromes Keith A. Marill, MD, MS Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA Abstract Andrew Schmidt, DO, MPH Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine; Deputy Medical Director, TraumaOne Flight Program, University of Florida College of Medicine – Though a minority of patients presenting to the emergency Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL department with chest pain have acute coronary syndromes, identifying the patients who may be safely discharged and CME Objectives determining whether further testing is needed remains chal- Upon completion of this article, you should be able to: 1. Identify major pitfalls that can lead to a missed diagnosis of acute lenging. From the prehospital care setting to disposition and coronary syndromes. follow-up, this systematic review addresses the fundamentals of 2. Effectively apply clinical risk scores for better risk stratification. the emergency department evaluation of patients determined to 3. Identify patients who are at low risk of acute coronary syndromes and be at low risk for acute coronary syndromes or adverse out- short-term major adverse cardiac outcome. 4. Apply a current, evidence-based strategy on the use of confirmatory comes. Clinical risk scores are discussed, as well as the evidence testing following ED evaluation. and indications for confirmatory testing. The emerging role of Prior to beginning this activity, see “Physician CME Information” new technologies, such as high-sensitivity troponin assays and on the back page.
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