Chest pain CT in the Emergency Department: evaluating the coronary arteries even when not specifically asked for?:

BackgroundComputed tomography (CT) for excluding acute aortic syndrome (AAS) and pulmonary embolism (PE) simultaneously in patients with chest pain could be used to exclude coronary artery disease (CAD).PurposeTo evaluate the frequency of further testing for CAD in patients receiving a CT in the emergency department (ED) for simultaneous evaluation for AAS and PE.Material and MethodsThis retrospective study was conducted over a three-year period including all patients with acute chest pain visiting our ED. All patients were included that received an electrocardiography (ECG)-gated CT of the entire chest enquiring simultaneously for AAS and PE. Those patients were followed up for 30 days after their initial ED visit whether they received further testing for CAD.ResultsWithin the study period, a total of 157 patients with acute chest pain received a chest pain CT for simultaneous evaluation of both AAS and PE. Image quality was deemed sufficient to evaluate the coronary arteries in 80% of the patients. Thir...