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How to Manage Suspected Non–ST-Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome

By Christian Tomaszewski, MD, MS, MBA, FACEP | on November 16, 2018 | 1 Comment
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In June 2018, the ACEP Board of Directors approved a clinical policy on the evaluation and management of adult patients presenting with suspected non–ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE ACS).1 In its complete form, this policy can be found on the ACEP website .

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ACEP Now: Vol 37 – No 11 – November 2018

Emergency physicians routinely rule out ACS in patients presenting with chest pain and have become very good at targeting timely interventions in the obvious cases of ST-elevation myocardial infarction but still miss up to 2 percent of acute myocardial infarctions, particularly those with non–ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). The purpose of this policy was to focus on the initial diagnosis and treatment of patients who present with potential NSTE ACS.

In developing the policy, the ultimate outcome measure was the 30-day incidence of major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE). This includes cardiovascular death and myocardial infarction, as well as what some argue is more subjective in terms of actual need, coronary revascularization. Most emergency physicians strive to attain a miss rate of less than 1 percent. However, it is questionable if the benefits of further testing outweigh the risks of harm of untreated disease once that threshold reaches 2 percent, which the committee felt was a more realistic expectation. With shared decision making, patients may be willing to accept rates higher than those to which physicians hold themselves accountable.

Emergency departments are so often congested with patients awaiting serial testing (laboratory and noninvasive) to rule out potential ACS that entire units have been dedicated to observing these patients, yet there is questionable benefit. Researchers have been looking for diagnostic strategies, single or serial troponins, and ECGs to try to identify at-risk patients sooner and expedite their transition of care. One strategy adopted internationally and slowly taking hold in the United States is the advent of high-sensitivity troponins. Although these have great promise for detecting potential disease sooner, without proper protocols, they can lead to excessive false positives. Regardless, their use holds great promise in expediting the care of patients suspected of NSTE ACS.

Ultimately, the purpose of this policy was to help ED clinicians expedite the care of patients presenting with chest pain who are at risk for NSTE ACS. The first three questions focus on initial identification of patients at low risk for MACE, using history and limited testing. Are there patients with suspected ACS who are safe to discharge based on initial risk stratification? Do serial troponins really help, and how long do we have to wait to do that second troponin? Does getting early non-invasive diagnostic testing for ACS prior to discharge from the emergency department really help decrease MACE rates? The goal was to see if there were strategies to expedite the initial evaluation and discharge of these patients without resorting to prolonged ED stays (four to six hours or longer) while still limiting the number of 30-day MACE.

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Topics: ACSAcute Coronary SyndromeCardiacnon–ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome

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One Response to “How to Manage Suspected Non–ST-Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome”

  1. December 2, 2018

    Jerry W. Jones, MD FACEP FAAEM Reply

    Overall, a good presentation and I do agree with many of your views though there are a few statements that give me pause.

    “Most emergency physicians strive to attain a miss rate of less than 1 percent. However, it is questionable if the benefits of further testing outweigh the risks of harm of untreated disease once that threshold reaches 2 percent, which the committee felt was a more realistic expectation. With shared decision making, patients may be willing to accept rates higher than those to which physicians hold themselves accountable.”

    0% rate of MACE remains the holy grail of all physicians treating patients with chest pain and especially emergency physicians. I think every ER physician should strive for 0% MACE, no matter HOW unattainable that figure may realistically be. Aiming for 2% will only result in figures higher than 2%. And I can’t imagine trying to talk a patient into leaving the ER with a potential for MACE greater than that with which I myself would feel comfortable. That just seems hypocritical and unethical to me. At some point we must ask ourselves, “Are we working for the patient or for an insurance company?” In the quote above, you essentially ask if it is worth trying to reduce incidents of MACE from 2% to less than 1%. Worth to whom – the patient or the insurance companies? These percentages are not spanning a career in EM – many of us will reach those percentages every few months.

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