Usefulness of PQRST pain assessment method for non-traumatic chest pain

Background The symptom of chest pain is one of the most common presenting complaints seen in primary and secondary care and is the leading cause of emergency department visits. PQRST pain assessment method might be useful, but contemporary researches of its feasibility for chest pain patients are limited. Methods Between March 2017 and August 2017, 533 consecutive patients as control group and 657 cases as treatment group were retrospectively recruited in the Emergency Department of our center. We compared the time took for the first cardiogram, the time spent in the emergency department, triage accuracy and patient stratification rate between two groups. Results In treatment group, statistically less time was spent to take the first cardiogram(5.3±1.2 vs. 11.2±2.5, P < 0.001). This group had higher triage accuracy(92.34% vs. 86.91%, P = 0.003)and patient stratification(95.51% vs. 91.48%, P = 0.006). Conclusions PQRST pain assessment method is useful and feasible for increasing triage accuracy and patient stratification rate of non-Traumatic chest pain patients in emergency department.