Associations between routine coronary computed tomographic angiography and reduced unnecessary hospital admissions, length of stay, recidivism rates, and invasive coronary angiography in the emergency department triage of chest pain.

Objectives This study was designed to assess the effects on resource utilization of routine coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) in triaging chest pain patients in the emergency department (ED). Background The routine use of CCTA for ED evaluation of chest pain is feasible and safe. Methods We conducted a retrospective multivariate analysis of data from two risk-matched cohorts of 894 ED patients presenting with chest pain to assess the impact of CCTA versus standard evaluation on admissions rate, length of stay, major adverse cardiovascular event rates, recidivism rates, and downstream resource utilization. Results The overall admission rate was lower with CCTA (14% vs. 40%; p  Conclusions The routine use of CCTA in ED evaluation of chest pain reduces healthcare resource utilization.