The Fast and the Furious: Low-Risk Chest Pain and the Rapid Rule-Out Protocol

West J Emerg Med. 2017 Apr;18(3):474-478. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2016.12.32676. Epub 2017 Feb 27.

Abstract

Accelerated diagnostic pathways (ADP) have been designed to identify low-risk chest pain patients in the emergency department. This review article discusses the Asia-Pacific Evaluation of Chest Pain Trial (ASPECT) score, the Accelerated Diagnostic Protocol for Chest Pain Trial (ADAPT) score, the Emergency Department Assessment of Chest Pain Score (EDACS), the HEARTScore and the HEART pathway. These ADPs have been validated in various studies and aid the emergency provider with identifying the low-risk chest pain patient who is appropriate for discharge home, while at the same time highlighting those patients who would benefit from further in-patient work up. These approaches should be paired with patient input and shared decision-making strategies.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers / blood
  • Chest Pain / blood
  • Chest Pain / diagnosis*
  • Chest Pain / therapy
  • Clinical Decision-Making
  • Critical Pathways*
  • Electrocardiography
  • Emergency Service, Hospital*
  • Humans
  • Medical History Taking
  • Patient Discharge
  • Point-of-Care Systems / statistics & numerical data*
  • Risk Assessment
  • Time Factors
  • Troponin / blood

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Troponin