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Retrospective observational study of patients who present to A ustralian rural emergency departments with undifferentiated chest pain
Author(s) -
Roche Tina,
Gardner Glenn,
Lewis Peter
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
australian journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.48
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1440-1584
pISSN - 1038-5282
DOI - 10.1111/ajr.12134
Subject(s) - medicine , chest pain , observational study , emergency department , retrospective cohort study , emergency medicine , physical therapy , pediatrics , psychiatry
Objective To identify the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who present to A ustralian rural emergency departments (EDs) with chest pain. Design Retrospective, observational study. Setting Rural ED s in Q ueensland, A ustralia. Participants Three hundred thirty‐seven consecutive adult patients with undifferentiated chest pain who presented between 1 S eptember 2013 and 30 N ovember 2013. Main outcome measures Service indicators, discharge diagnoses and disposition. Results Presentations for undifferentiated chest pain represented 3.5% of all patient presentations during the sampling period. The mean age of patients was 48 years and 54% were male. Overall, 92% of patients left the ED within the 4‐hour NEAT target. The majority of presentations were related to cardiac concerns (39%), followed by non‐cardiac chest pain (17%), musculoskeletal (15%) and respiratory (10%) conditions. More than half of these patients were discharged at the completion of the ED service (52.8%), 40.6% were admitted, 3.3% left at own risk, 2.4% did not wait and less than 1% of patients required transfer to another hospital directly from the ED . Conclusions This study has provided information on the characteristics and processes of care for patients presenting to A ustralian rural EDs with undifferentiated chest pain that will inform service planning and further research to evaluate the effectiveness of care for these patients.