BACKGROUND: Chest pain is a common symptom that presents the primary care physician with a complex diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. AIMS: To evaluate the natural history and management of patients diagnosed with chest pain of unspecified type or origin in primary care. DESIGN: Population-based case-control study. METHODS: The study included 13,740 patients with a first diagnosis of unspecified chest pain and 20,000 age- and sex-matched controls identified from the UK General Practice Research Database. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed using unconditional logistic regression. Risk estimates were adjusted for age, sex and number of physician visits. RESULTS: The incidence of a new diagnosis of chest pain was 15.5 per 1000 person-years and increased with age, particularly in men. The risk of a chest pain diagnosis was greatest in patients with prior diagnoses of coronary heart disease (OR: 7.1; 95% CI: 6.1-8.2) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (OR: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.7-2.3). In the year after diagnosis, chest pain patients were more likely than controls to be newly diagnosed with coronary heart disease (OR: 14.9; 95% CI: 12.7-17.4) and heart failure (OR: 4.7; 95% CI: 3.6-6.1). A new diagnosis of chest pain was associated with an increased risk of death in the following year (RR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.9-2.8). CONCLUSIONS: Some causes of chest pain are underdiagnosed in primary care. This is of particular consequence for the minority of chest pain patients with cardiac disease.
BACKGROUND:Chest pain is a common symptom that presents the primary care physician with a complex diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. AIMS: To evaluate the natural history and management of patients diagnosed with chest pain of unspecified type or origin in primary care. DESIGN: Population-based case-control study. METHODS: The study included 13,740 patients with a first diagnosis of unspecifiedchest pain and 20,000 age- and sex-matched controls identified from the UK General Practice Research Database. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed using unconditional logistic regression. Risk estimates were adjusted for age, sex and number of physician visits. RESULTS: The incidence of a new diagnosis of chest pain was 15.5 per 1000 person-years and increased with age, particularly in men. The risk of a chest pain diagnosis was greatest in patients with prior diagnoses of coronary heart disease (OR: 7.1; 95% CI: 6.1-8.2) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (OR: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.7-2.3). In the year after diagnosis, chest painpatients were more likely than controls to be newly diagnosed with coronary heart disease (OR: 14.9; 95% CI: 12.7-17.4) and heart failure (OR: 4.7; 95% CI: 3.6-6.1). A new diagnosis of chest pain was associated with an increased risk of death in the following year (RR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.9-2.8). CONCLUSIONS: Some causes of chest pain are underdiagnosed in primary care. This is of particular consequence for the minority of chest painpatients with cardiac disease.
Authors: Stefan Bösner; Jörg Haasenritter; Annette Becker; Maren A Hani; Heidi Keller; Andreas C Sönnichsen; Konstantinos Karatolios; Juergen R Schaefer; Erika Baum; Norbert Donner-Banzhoff Journal: Int Arch Med Date: 2009-12-12
Authors: Baris Gencer; Paul Vaucher; Lilli Herzig; François Verdon; Christiane Ruffieux; Stefan Bösner; Bernard Burnand; Thomas Bischoff; Norbert Donner-Banzhoff; Bernard Favrat Journal: BMC Med Date: 2010-01-21 Impact factor: 8.775