Ruling out coronary artery disease in primary care: development and validation of a simple prediction rule.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Chest pain can be caused by various conditions, with life-threatening cardiac disease being of greatest concern. Prediction scores to rule out coronary artery disease have been developed for use in emergency settings. We developed and validated a simple prediction rule for use in primary care.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional diagnostic study in 74 primary care practices in Germany. Primary care physicians recruited all consecutive patients who presented with chest pain (n = 1249) and recorded symptoms and findings for each patient (derivation cohort). An independent expert panel reviewed follow-up data obtained at six weeks and six months on symptoms, investigations, hospital admissions and medications to determine the presence or absence of coronary artery

SUBMITTER: Bosner S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2934794 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature