Improving the performance of a triage scale for chest pain patients admitted to emergency departments: combining cardiovascular risk factors and electrocardiogram.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The triage of patients presenting with chest pain on admission to the emergency department uses scales based on patient clinical presentation or an electrocardiogram (ECG). These scales have different sensitivity and specificity. Although a good sensitivity allows for the prompt identification of high-risk patients, specificity prevent ED overcrowding. Moreover, ECG at triage avoids missing ST elevation myocardial infarction, which requires urgent revascularization. Our study therefore aimed to investigate whether a scale combining ECG and cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) improves the diagnostic performance of ED chest pain triage scale.

Methods and results

In this prospective single-center observational study involving 505 patients, the standard ECG-based FRENC

SUBMITTER: Casarin C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9251936 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature