Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle found that using cardiac CT to diagnose chest pain in low-risk patients is far cheaper than the standard of care (SOC) using nuclear stress testing, according to a study to be presented at next week's American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) meeting in Boston.
Lead investigators Janet May, Dr. William Shuman, and colleagues compared the costs of care in 53 low-risk chest pain patients with cardiac CT and the SOC workup, which included serial cardiac enzymes, serial ECGs, and a nuclear cardiac stress test.
The cost of SOC was $7,597 per patient and took 30 hours to perform, compared to approximately $5,014 for each cardiac CT patient, a cost savings of 44%.
"With new lower-dose cardiac CT options available that lower the patient radiation dose, patients get a faster evaluation and are discharged much sooner with a cardiac CT; in less than six hours," May said. Most of the 6 million chest pain patients presenting to emergency rooms each year in the U.S. are low risk, and cardiac CT will help reduce congestion and the spiraling costs of care, she added.
Related Reading
ACC study: Coronary CTA tops other tests for long-term prognosis, April 2, 2009
Coronary CTA cuts costs for chest pain care, February 29, 2008
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