Chest Pain Assessment in the ED
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Resources |
DDx
Serious/do not miss Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) Aortic dissection Pulmonary embolus Common Pneumothorax Pmeumonia Pericarditis Abdominal- oesophagitis, cholecsystitis Unusual Oesophageal rupture Assessment History- is very important in assessing chest pain, and is helpful in risk stratification of patients. RIsk stratification plays an important role in determining disposition of the patient. High risk:
Intermediate risk
Low risk
High risk are likely to require CCU admission or admission with telemetry monitoring and therefore should be discussed early with the cardiology team. Intermediate risk patients warrant a stress test (either a myocardial perfusion scan or exercise stress test prior to discharge); at TPCH this is done via CPAS or admission for cardiology for serial troponins. And the low risk patients are ones that you would probably discharge home following a negative troponin and no repeated symptoms with GP follow up. At TPCH, there is the pathway to organise this PRIOR to discharge via the Accelerated Diagnostic Protocol (ADP) pathway. Examination Examination in patients with chest pain can often be unremarkable, unless there are signs of heart failure. Investigation ECG- all patients with active chest pain need an ECG done within 10 mins, as serious causes of chest pain (ie STEMIs) are diagnosed only with ECG and these patients require urgent reperfusion therapy. Serial ECGs are essential for all patients with ongoing chest pain to identify any dynamic changes. |
Emergency Medicine - Cadogan & Brown
Rosen's Emergency Medicine |