"We've known for some time that cardiac-gated CT can indicate which patients with low- to moderate-risk chest pain in the ER may need close monitoring and protracted evaluation versus those who can safely be sent home right after a negative CT exam," said Dr. William Shuman. Based on negative CT alone, "about 85% of such patients can be discharged quickly and with much less cost than if they must wait around for the standard-of-care testing pathway to prove they do not have coronary artery disease or other serious problems."
The researchers followed 65 chest pain patients for a full year after negative coronary CTA, contacting them at three, six, and 12 months and questioning them in detail. Not a single negative coronary CTA patient episode, test result, or therapy suggestive of a cardiac event occurred over the 12-month follow-up period.
"This adds further strength to the ... evidence that early discharge from the ER after a negative cardiac CT in this population is a safe practice," Shuman told AuntMinnie.com.
