STUDY OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to examine time and imaging costs of 2 different imaging strategies for low-risk emergency department (ED) observation patients with acute chest pain or symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome. We compared a "triple rule-out" (TRO) 64-section multidetector computed tomography protocol with nuclear stress testing. METHODS: This was a prospective observational cohort study of consecutive ED patients who were enrolled in our chest pain observation protocol during a 16-month period. Our standard observation protocol included a minimum of 2 sets of cardiac enzymes at least 6 hours apart followed by a nuclear stress test. Once a week, observation patients were offered a TRO (to evaluate for coronary artery disease, thoracic dissection, and pulmonary embolus) multidetector computed tomography with the option of further stress testing for those patients found to have evidence of coronary artery disease. RESULTS: We analyzed 832 consecutive observation patients including 214 patients who underwent the TRO protocol. Mean total length of stay was 16.1 hours for TRO patients, 16.3 hours for TRO plus other imaging test, 22.6 hours for nuclear stress testing, 23.3 hours for nuclear stress testing plus other imaging tests, and 23.7 hours for nuclear stress testing plus TRO (P < .0001 for TRO and TRO + other test compared to stress test ± other test). Mean imaging times were 3.6, 4.4, 5.9, 7.5, and 6.6 hours, respectively (P < .05 for TRO and TRO + other test compared to stress test ± other test). Mean imaging costs were $1307 for TRO patients vs $945 for nuclear stress testing. CONCLUSION: Triple rule-out reduced total length of stay and imaging time but incurred higher imaging costs. A per-hospital analysis would be needed to determine if patient time savings justify the higher imaging costs. Copyright Â
STUDY OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to examine time and imaging costs of 2 different imaging strategies for low-risk emergency department (ED) observation patients with acute chest pain or symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome. We compared a "triple rule-out" (TRO) 64-section multidetector computed tomography protocol with nuclear stress testing. METHODS: This was a prospective observational cohort study of consecutive ED patients who were enrolled in our chest pain observation protocol during a 16-month period. Our standard observation protocol included a minimum of 2 sets of cardiac enzymes at least 6 hours apart followed by a nuclear stress test. Once a week, observation patients were offered a TRO (to evaluate for coronary artery disease, thoracic dissection, and pulmonary embolus) multidetector computed tomography with the option of further stress testing for those patients found to have evidence of coronary artery disease. RESULTS: We analyzed 832 consecutive observation patients including 214 patients who underwent the TRO protocol. Mean total length of stay was 16.1 hours for TRO patients, 16.3 hours for TRO plus other imaging test, 22.6 hours for nuclear stress testing, 23.3 hours for nuclear stress testing plus other imaging tests, and 23.7 hours for nuclear stress testing plus TRO (P < .0001 for TRO and TRO + other test compared to stress test ± other test). Mean imaging times were 3.6, 4.4, 5.9, 7.5, and 6.6 hours, respectively (P < .05 for TRO and TRO + other test compared to stress test ± other test). Mean imaging costs were $1307 for TRO patients vs $945 for nuclear stress testing. CONCLUSION: Triple rule-out reduced total length of stay and imaging time but incurred higher imaging costs. A per-hospital analysis would be needed to determine if patient time savings justify the higher imaging costs. Copyright Â
Authors: Ricardo C Cury; Gudrun Feuchtner; Carol Mascioli; Jonathon Fialkow; Paul Andrulonis; Tomas Villanueva; Constantino S Pena; Warren R Janowitz; Barry T Katzen; Jack A Ziffer Journal: J Nucl Cardiol Date: 2011-04 Impact factor: 5.952
Authors: Kelley R Branch; Brian W Bresnahan; David L Veenstra; William P Shuman; William S Weintraub; Janet M Busey; Daniel J Elliott; Lee M Mitsumori; Jared Strote; Kathleen Jobe; Ted Dubinsky; James H Caldwell Journal: Acad Radiol Date: 2011-12-30 Impact factor: 3.173
Authors: José Carlos Nicolau; Gilson Soares Feitosa Filho; João Luiz Petriz; Remo Holanda de Mendonça Furtado; Dalton Bertolim Précoma; Walmor Lemke; Renato Delascio Lopes; Ari Timerman; José A Marin Neto; Luiz Bezerra Neto; Bruno Ferraz de Oliveira Gomes; Eduardo Cavalcanti Lapa Santos; Leopoldo Soares Piegas; Alexandre de Matos Soeiro; Alexandre Jorge de Andrade Negri; Andre Franci; Brivaldo Markman Filho; Bruno Mendonça Baccaro; Carlos Eduardo Lucena Montenegro; Carlos Eduardo Rochitte; Carlos José Dornas Gonçalves Barbosa; Cláudio Marcelo Bittencourt das Virgens; Edson Stefanini; Euler Roberto Fernandes Manenti; Felipe Gallego Lima; Francisco das Chagas Monteiro Júnior; Harry Correa Filho; Henrique Patrus Mundim Pena; Ibraim Masciarelli Francisco Pinto; João Luiz de Alencar Araripe Falcão; Joberto Pinheiro Sena; José Maria Peixoto; Juliana Ascenção de Souza; Leonardo Sara da Silva; Lilia Nigro Maia; Louis Nakayama Ohe; Luciano Moreira Baracioli; Luís Alberto de Oliveira Dallan; Luis Augusto Palma Dallan; Luiz Alberto Piva E Mattos; Luiz Carlos Bodanese; Luiz Eduardo Fonteles Ritt; Manoel Fernandes Canesin; Marcelo Bueno da Silva Rivas; Marcelo Franken; Marcos José Gomes Magalhães; Múcio Tavares de Oliveira Júnior; Nivaldo Menezes Filgueiras Filho; Oscar Pereira Dutra; Otávio Rizzi Coelho; Paulo Ernesto Leães; Paulo Roberto Ferreira Rossi; Paulo Rogério Soares; Pedro Alves Lemos Neto; Pedro Silvio Farsky; Rafael Rebêlo C Cavalcanti; Renato Jorge Alves; Renato Abdala Karam Kalil; Roberto Esporcatte; Roberto Luiz Marino; Roberto Rocha Corrêa Veiga Giraldez; Romeu Sérgio Meneghelo; Ronaldo de Souza Leão Lima; Rui Fernando Ramos; Sandra Nivea Dos Reis Saraiva Falcão; Talia Falcão Dalçóquio; Viviana de Mello Guzzo Lemke; William Azem Chalela; Wilson Mathias Júnior Journal: Arq Bras Cardiol Date: 2021-07 Impact factor: 2.667