Utility of coronary computed tomography to rule out acute coronary syndrome in the emergency department: a pilot study

Objective: To analyze the diagnostic contribution of coronary multidetector computed tomography (CMCT) in low-risk chest pain patients. Methods: Retrospective, descriptive substudy as part of a prospective study of the diagnostic yield of stress echocardiography in comparison with CMCT angiography. The setting was a non-traumatic chest pain unit. Patients with chest pain but without diagnosed coronary artery disease and fewer than 2 coronary risk factors in 2008 were included if the information usually gathered to diagnose acute coronary syndrome (ACS) (ie, medical history, electrocardiogram, troponin series, and ergometry) was negative. Clinical and patient data were recorded and CMCT was performed; if abnormalities were detected, heart catheterism was undertaken. Results: Of the 502 patients suspected of having ACS while CMCT was available to the department, 54 (10.7%) met the criteria for performing the procedure. CMCT demonstrated normal coronary arteries in 35 (64.8%). In 3 (5.5%) the findings could not be interpreted due to artifacts and in 16 (29.6%), abnormalities were detected. Catheterization was performed in 15 of the 16 patients; the test was positive in 10. CMCT led to a diagnosis of ACS in an additional 2% of the group of patients in whom the diagnosis was initially suspected and in 18.5% of the 54 patients included in the CMCT study. Conclusions: CMCT contributed additional diagnoses of ACS when the procedure was used to complement the standard protocol (history, ECG, troponin series, and ergonnetry) in patients with chest pain. [Emergencias 2010;22:101-108]