CT Scan Speeds Diagnosis of Chest Pain in ER
According to research reported in the February 27, 2007, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), a computed tomography (CT) scan of the heart can quickly detect whether there are blockages or calcium in the arteries of the heart, which indicates that coronary artery disease may be the cause of the chest pain. It can very difficult to diagnose a life-threatening heart problem based on symptoms alone. The standard approach to rule out a heart attack includes having the patient undergo a series of electrocardiograms (ECG) and cardiac enzyme blood tests.
While patients with obvious heart attacks are diagnosed easily and quickly, for others, early test results are often inconclusive. Therefore, the tests are conducted over 8 to 12 hours followed by rest and/or stress imaging study. During this time patients are in the emergency room (ER) waiting for tests to be performed and repeated and for results to be evaluated. This approach is time consuming and resource intensive with an estimated cost of $10-$12 billion annually in the U.S.
“The new 64-slice CT scanners give us amazing pictures of the heart,” said James A. Goldstein, M.D., F.A.C.C., Director of Research and Education in the Division of Cardiology at William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI. Dr. Goldstein, lead author of the JACC study, states “with this very simple outpatient scan, you can rapidly determine whether the arteries are normal or abnormal–and if they’re abnormal, whether the disease is mild, moderate, or severe.” In the Beaumont study, coronary CT angiography was compared to the standard testing approach for patients with chest pain. Highlights from the study include the following:
- “Coronary CT angiography was able to diagnose mild, moderate or severe blockages - exceeding 95 percent accuracy without invasive cardiac catherization.
- The time to diagnosis was reduced by 75 percent (from 15 hours to 3.5 hours).
- Costs for testing were reduced by 15 percent.
- Patients were sent home more quickly and with a definite diagnosis.
- Unnecessary hospital admissions were avoided.”
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February 28, 2007 Related topics: Finance, Imaging, Cardiology, Cost savings