Reliability of the CARE rule and the HEART score to rule out an acute coronary syndrome in non-traumatic chest pain patients

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1111-1119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Moumneh ◽  
Vanessa Richard-Jourjon ◽  
Emilie Friou ◽  
Fabrice Prunier ◽  
Caroline Soulie-Chavignon ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
pp. emermed-2020-210833
Author(s):  
Tsvetelina Nilsson ◽  
Erik Johannesson ◽  
Jakob Lundager Forberg ◽  
Arash Mokhtari ◽  
Ulf Ekelund

Background/aimIn ED chest pain patients, a 0-hour/1-hour protocol based on high sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) tests combined with clinical risk stratification in diagnosing acute coronary syndrome is recommended. Two of the most promising risk stratification tools are the History, ECG, Age, Risk Factors and Troponin (HEART) and Emergency Department Assessment of Chest Pain (EDAC) scores. Few studies have assessed the diagnostic accuracy of the 0-hour/1-hour hs-cTnT protocol when combined with HEART score, and none with EDACS. In ED chest pain patients, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a 0-hour/1-hour hs-cTnT protocol combined the HEART Pathway, or the EDACS accelerated diagnostic pathway (EDACS-ADP).MethodsThis was a secondary analysis of data from a prospective observational study enrolling 1167 ED chest pain patients who visited the ED at Skåne University Hospital in Lund, Sweden in the period between February 2013 and April 2014. HEART and EDAC scores were assessed together with hs-cTnT at 0 and 1 hour and compared with HEART score alone. Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV) and likelihood ratios were evaluated. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiac events (MACE) including unstable angina within 30 days. The secondary outcome was index visit acute myocardial infarction (AMI).ResultsA total of 939 patients were included in the final analysis. When combined with 0-hour/1-hour hs-cTnT testing, the HEART Pathway and EDACS-ADP identified 49.8% and 49.6% of the patients for rule-out, with NPVs for 30-day MACE of 99.8% and 99.1%, compared with the HEART score alone that identified 53.4% of the patients for rule-out with NPV of 99.2%. The NPV for index visit AMI were 100%, 99.8% and 99.2%, respectively.ConclusionThe combination of the HEART Pathway or the EDACS-ADP with a 0-hour/1-hour hs-cTnT protocol allows safe and early rule-out in a large proportion of ED chest pain patients.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. e027081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralf E Harskamp ◽  
Simone C Laeven ◽  
Jelle CL Himmelreich ◽  
Wim A M Lucassen ◽  
Henk C P M van Weert

ObjectiveTo identify and assess the performance of clinical decision rules (CDR) for chest pain in general practice.DesignSystematic review of diagnostic studies.Data sourcesMedline/Pubmed, Embase/Ovid, CINAHL/EBSCO and Google Scholar up to October 2018.Study selectionStudies that assessed CDRs for intermittent-type chest pain and for rule out of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) applicable in general practice, thus not relying on advanced laboratory, computer or diagnostic testing.Review methodsReviewers identified studies, extracted data and assessed the quality of the evidence (using Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2)), independently and in duplicate.ResultsEight studies comprising five CDRs met the inclusion criteria. Three CDRs are designed for rule out of coronary disease in intermittent-type chest pain (Gencer rule, Marburg Heart Score, INTERCHEST), and two for rule out of ACS (Grijseels rule, Bruins Slot rule). Studies that examined the Marburg Heart Score had the highest methodological quality with consistent sensitivity (86%–91%), specificity (61%–81%) and positive (23%–35%) and negative (97%–98%) predictive values (PPV and NPV). The diagnostic performance of Gencer (PPV: 20%–34%, NPV: 95%–99%) and INTERCHEST (PPV: 35%–43%, NPV: 96%–98%) appear comparable, but requires further validation. The Marburg Heart Score was more sensitive in detecting coronary disease than the clinical judgement of the general practitioner. The performance of CDRs that focused on rule out of ACS were: Grijseels rule (sensitivity: 91%, specificity: 37%, PPV: 57%, NPV: 82%) and Bruins Slot (sensitivity: 97%, specificity: 10%, PPV: 23%, NPV: 92%). Compared with clinical judgement, the Bruins Slot rule appeared to be safer than clinical judgement alone, but the study was limited in sample size.ConclusionsIn general practice, there is currently no clinical decision aid that can safely rule out ACS. For intermittent chest pain, several rules exist, of which the Marburg Heart Score has been most extensively tested and appears to outperform clinical judgement alone.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. e244045
Author(s):  
May Honey Ohn ◽  
Jun Rong Ng ◽  
Theviga Neela Mehan ◽  
Ng Pey Luen

Morgagni hernia is the rarest type of congenital diaphragmatic hernia, which can present late in adulthood. Here, we report a case of Morgagni hernia in an elderly woman who presented as an acute coronary syndrome with raised troponin level. X-ray of the chest (CXR) showed air–fluid level in the right lower hemithorax with loss of right diaphragmatic outline and subsequently confirmed strangulated Morgagni hernia with CT. She was treated with emergency laparotomy to reduce the hernia content and surgical repair with mesh done. In conclusion, Troponin can be falsely positive in Morgagni hernia patients, possibly due to strain on the heart by herniated bowel contents. Basic imaging such as a (CXR) is useful in the case of chest pain to rule out the non-cardiac causes. Although ‘time is the myocardium’ in the setting of all cases of chest pain with raised troponin, CXR should be done before treatment that poses bleeding risk and unnecessary delay in laparotomy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. A10.2-A10
Author(s):  
Ahmed Alotaibi ◽  
Abdulrhman Alghamdi ◽  
Charles Reynard ◽  
Richard Body

IntroductionChest pain is one of the most common reasons for ambulance callouts and presentation to Emergency Departments (EDs). Differentiating patients with serious conditions (e.g. acute coronary syndrome [ACS]) from the majority, who have self-limiting, non-cardiac conditions is extremely challenging. This causes over-triage and over-use of healthcare resources. We aimed to systematically review existing evidence on the accuracy of emergency telephone triage to detect ACS or life-threatening conditions associated with chest pain.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Two independent investigators searched the Embase, Medline, and Cinahl databases for relevant papers. We included retrospective and prospective cohort studies written in English and investigating EMS telephone triage for chest pain patients linked with final diagnosis of ACS. Studies were summarised in a narrative format as the data were not suitable for meta-analysis.ResultIn total, 553 studies were identified from the literature search and cross-referencing. After excluding 550 studies, three were eligible for inclusion. Among those 3 studies, there are different prediction models developed by authors with variation in variables to detect ACS. The result showed that dispatch triage tools have good sensitivity to detect ACS and life-threatening conditions although they are used to triage sign and symptoms rather than diagnosing the patients. On the other hand, prediction models were built to detect ACS and life-threatening conditions and therefore it showed better sensitivity and NPV.ConclusionEMS dispatch systems accuracy for ACS and life-threatening conditions associated with chest pain is good. Since the dispatch tools were built to triage ambulance response priority based on sign and symptoms, this led to over triage among non-life-threatening chest pain patients. Over triage were slightly reduced by deriving prediction models and showed better sensitivity.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 138-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew T. Crim ◽  
Scott A. Berkowitz ◽  
Mustapha Saheed ◽  
Jason Miller ◽  
Amy Deutschendorf ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Eric Durand ◽  
Aurès Chaib ◽  
Etienne Puymirat ◽  
Nicolas Danchin

Patients presenting at the emergency department with acute chest pain and suspected to represent an acute coronary syndrome were classically admitted as routine to the cardiology department, resulting in expensive and time-consuming evaluations. However, 2-5% of patients with acute coronary syndromes were discharged home inappropriately, resulting in increased mortality. To address the inability to exclude the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome, chest pain units were developed, particularly in the United States. These provide an environment where serial electrocardiograms, cardiac biomarkers, and provocative testing can be performed to confirm or rule out an acute coronary syndrome. Eligible candidates include the majority of patients with non-diagnostic electrocardiograms. The results have been impressive; chest pain units have markedly reduced adverse events, while simultaneously increasing the rate of safe discharge by 36%. Despite evidence to suggest that care in chest pain units is more effective for such patients, the percentage of emergency or cardiology departments setting up chest pain units remains low in Europe.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 576-585
Author(s):  
Òscar Miró ◽  
Pedro Lopez-Ayala ◽  
Gemma Martínez-Nadal ◽  
Valentina Troester ◽  
Ivo Strebel ◽  
...  

Background We aimed to externally validate an emergency department triage algorithm including five hierarchical clinical variables developed to identify chest pain patients at low risk of having an acute coronary syndrome justifying delayed rather than immediate evaluation. Methods In a single-centre cohort enrolling 29,269 consecutive patients presenting with chest pain, the performance of the algorithm was compared against the emergency department discharge diagnosis. In an international multicentre study enrolling 4069 patients, central adjudication by two independent cardiologists using all data derived from cardiac work-up including follow-up served as the reference. Triage towards ‘low-risk’ required absence of all five clinical ‘high-risk’ variables: history of coronary artery disease, diabetes, pressure-like chest pain, retrosternal chest pain and age above 40 years. Safety (sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV)) and efficacy (percentage of patients classified as low risk) was tested in this initial proposal (Model A) and in two additional models: omitting age criteria (Model B) and allowing up to one (any) of the five high-risk variables (Model C). Results The prevalence of acute coronary syndrome was 9.4% in the single-centre and 28.4% in the multicentre study. The triage algorithm had very high sensitivity/NPV in both cohorts (99.4%/99.1% and 99.9%/99.1%, respectively), but very low efficacy (6.2% and 2.7%, respectively). Model B resulted in sensitivity/NPV of 97.5%/98.3% and 96.1%/89.4%, while efficacy increased to 14.2% and 10.4%, respectively. Model C resulted in sensitivity/NPV of 96.7%/98.6% and 95.2%/91.3%, with a further increase in efficacy to 23.1% and 15.5%, respectively. Conclusion A triage algorithm for the identification of low-risk chest pain patients exclusively based on simple clinical variables provided reasonable performance characteristics possibly justifying delayed rather than immediate evaluation in the emergency department.


Cardiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 145 (11) ◽  
pp. 685-692
Author(s):  
Arash Mokhtari ◽  
Ardavan Khoshnood ◽  
Jakob Lundager Forberg ◽  
Caroline Hård af Segerstad ◽  
Ulf Ekström ◽  
...  

Chest pain is one of the most common complaints at the emergency department (ED), and it is commonly the perceived likelihood of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) that drives management. Guidelines from the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) recommend the use of a 0-/1-h high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) protocol to rule out or in ACS, but this is mostly based on observational studies. The aim of the ESC-TROP trial is to determine the safety and effectiveness of the ESC 0-/1-h hs-cTnT protocol when implemented in routine care. Adult chest pain patients at 5 EDs in the Skåne Region, Sweden, are included in the trial. The 0-/1-h hs-cTnT ESC protocol supplemented with clinical assessment and electrocardiography (ECG) is implemented at 3 EDs, and the other 2 EDs act as concurrent controls. Outcomes will be evaluated during the 10 months after the implementation and the corresponding 10 months of the previous year. The 2 co-primary outcomes are (a) acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and all-cause death within 30 days in patients discharged from the ED, and (b) ED length of stay of the same patients. Secondary outcomes include the proportion of chest pain patients discharged from the ED and the number of ruled-out patients undergoing objective testing within 30 days. The ESC-TROP trial will determine the performance and applicability of the 0-/1-h hs-cTnT ESC protocol supplemented with clinical assessment and ECG when implemented in routine ED care. It will provide evidence whether 0-/1-h hs-cTnT testing is safe, effective, and feasible, and whether widespread implementation as recommended by ESC guidelines should be supported.


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