Main etiologies for patients presented to ER with chest pain or chest pain equivalent

Abstract

Objective To identify the main etiologies of emergency room (ER) patients with chest pain or equivalent syndrome.Methods This was a prospective and cross-sectinal survey of ER patinets with chest pain or equivalent syndrome in 17 medical centre in Beijing,China from July to August 2009.Data was collected by structured interviews and medical record reviews.The mean follow up period was 30 days.Results A total of 5666 patients were enrolled in the study (2663 males and 3303 females) and the mean age was 58.1 ± 18.4years.Their final diagnoses were:coronary heart disease 1506 ( 27.4％ ),acute heart failure 149 ( 2.6％ ),pericarditis 4 ( 0.1％ ),pulmonary embolism 11 ( 0.2％ ),aortic dissection 8 ( 0.1％ ),acute cerebrovascular disease 431 ( 7.6％ ) and non-cardic chest pain 2538 ( 44.9％ ).Thirty-seven cased died and 275 cases hospitalized again 30 days later,4.9％ patients with cornary heart disease had symptoms at their presentation.Conclusion Special vigilance and thorough coronary artery evaluation are needed for all patients with chest discomfort or respiratory distress in the ER,even for patients without chest pain. Key words: Chest pain; Acute coronary syndrome; Etiologies