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

Background Computed 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). Purpose To 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 Methods This 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. Results Within 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. Thirty-seven patients (24%) underwent additional testing for CAD within 30 days of their ED visit, including catheter coronary angiography (n = 25), cardiac-stress single-photon emission-CT (n = 6), and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (n = 6). Conclusion Of patients presenting to the ED with acute chest pain who received a chest pain CT for simultaneous evaluation of AAS and PE, 24% had further imaging for CAD within 30 days of the initial ED visit. Immediate evaluation of the coronary arteries as part of a chest pain CT should be considered here for not delaying diagnosis.