How to Investigate in ED “Chest Pain ? Cardiac” Summary Notes

How to Investigate in ED
“Chest Pain ? Cardiac”
Summary Notes
The Health Roundtable
Cross-Chapter Workshop 17 May 2002
Unstable Angina Guidelines 2000
Recommended Management
of chest pain or discomfort
ECG
ST elevation
(or LBBB)
MJA Vol 173 16 Oct 2000
?
YES
ST
elevation
Consider
Reperfusion
therapy
No ST elevation
High Risk
Intermediate Risk
Low Risk
Rapid Chest Pain
Evaluation Strategy
CCU
HDU
Recurrent Ischaemia
POS. TROPONIN
Yes
Coronary
Angiogram
PTCA
No recurrent Ischaemia
NEG. TROPONIN
CABG
POS
EST?
Medical Therapy
No
OPD/GP
Follow-up
Unstable Angina Guidelines 2000: MJA Vol 173 16 Oct 2000
Recommended Management
of chest pain or discomfort
• Baseline assess & tests
• ECG < 5 mins, Troponin (or CK-MB if unavail), FBC, creatinine,
electrolytes, CK, lipids (<24 hrs), BSL & Chest x-ray
• History & physical < 10 mins
• Assessed most appropriately qualified person
• ECG sole test to select emergency reperfusion
(thrombolytic or direct PCI)
• Continuous/serial ECG if high/intermediate risk
• NEG TROP = Repeat > 6 hours after presentation
• If AMI, serial CK for 48 hours
New terminology for acute coronary syndromes
UNSTABLE ANGINA
High
Low
Risk
Risk
‘Minor
Myocardial
Damage’
MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION
ST
Non-ST
Elevation
Elevation
Troponin
CK
TROP
NEG
POS
POS
POS
CK
NEG
NEG
POS
POS
ECG on
arrival
NEG
POS
POS
POS
ECG on NEG
discharge
ST depress or transient ST elevation
No Q wave
No Q wave
ST elevation
Q or no Q wave
Mortality
Cardiac Markers
Unstable Angina Guidelines 2000: MJA Vol 173 16 Oct 2000
How to manage chest pain before
definitive diagnosis
• ED’s aim is to risk stratify
– Start safe treatment at all hours without always making a
definitive diagnosis [can be during hours by cardiology]
– Which patients to admit or send home?
• Up-skill ED staff to meet increasing community
demand for 24/7 expertise at front-line
– Meet monthly to review ED-Cardiology relationship
– Use and audit “risk stratification and filtering” decision
trees and check lists
Terminology for Standardising Care
• “Clinical Practice Guidelines”
– High level, usually National consensus statements
summarising the evidence e.g.
• Unstable Angina 2000, MJA Vol 173 16 Oct 2000
• “Protocol” / “Decision Tree” / “Algorithm”
– Branching diagram of decision & interventions in sequence
– Based on guideline evidence – more accessible
• “Clinical pathways”
– For condition-specific & predictable care (elective origin)
– Specifies timing of interventions
– Can reduce cycle time e.g. inpatient LOS 36 hrs to 18
hours (50%): Low Risk Angina Pathway (Fury)
Diagnosis-specific pathway
• Use only when definitive diagnosis confirmed
• Question use if patient does not fit (“falls off”)
• Develop and routinely audit - by personnel
expected to use across care continuum:
• problems occur often at Dept interfaces
• check appropriate use and improve tool
• Must help practitioner - not hinder
• Take no more time when used
•Monitor
•CCU/HDU
YES
ST
elevation
ECG
ST elevation
?
No
ST elevation
arrival
TROPONIN
NEG.
anytime
POS.
Coronary
Angiogram
High Risk
Yes
POS
EST?
No
Low Risk
PTCA
CABG
Medical Therapy
ED Chest Pain
Roundtable 2002
Assessment of
Chest pain in ED
EST
available
24/7?
Yes
No
home + EST booked
on Aspirin +/- statin
+/- B blocker
(cease pre-EST)
OPD Cardiology GP
Follow-up
•?myocardial perf scan
•Repeat selected tests
TROPONIN for Risk Stratification
Typical test timing
“ideal”
“pragmatic”
“adequate”
Interpretation
4hr
post
pain
12hr
post
pain
TWO
POS
TROP
AMI
Admit
On ED
arrival
12hr
post
pain
ONE
POS
TROP
Monitor until
12 hr TROP
12hr
post
pain
W.H.O.: cardiac marker levels
must rise and fall to be diagnostic
1st
NEG
TROP
TWO
NEG
TROP
Off monitor
+ 6hr TROP
+ Neg EST
= low not
no risk
Exercise Stress Test
pre-discharge from ED?
• Thunder has EST available 7 days so can
perform pre-discharge:
– Until 8pm week nights and weekend mornings
– Nurse performed and Cardiology Registrar interprets
results (and backs-up if problems)
• One stop shop better patient care if efficient with
no delays and bed blockage
• May complicate Medicare reimbursement
potential for some hospitals ?
Angiogram vs Treadmill
• Angiogram remains gold standard for
diagnosis of CHD and AMI risk stratification
• Use earlier where high overall risk and benefit e.g.
airline pilots
• Exercise stress test is non-invasive
approximation
• Use earlier in more active people
• One hosp does routine EST before home (7 day fast
track access needed e.g. nurses perform, read
registrar)
• Use with protocol/criteria to reduce LOS
• Nuclear med scans better but more expensive/slow
Trends ED Chest Pain Assessment
Chest History
Pain to
&
ED
Physical
ECG
<10m
Cardiac
Markers
Exercise
Stress
Test
Shift to early as possible tests to risk stratify
before ED discharge
•ECG <10 mins - continuous monitor ST elevation ideal
•Repeated troponins - mainstay to risk stratification
•Exercise Stress Test – before discharge ideal
•Expert practitioner assessment in ED 24 hours/7 days
Evidence for Chest Pain Units
• CHEEP study
– most recognised supported cost benefit and safety
• Mayo Clinic study
– concluded saving time and money
• Sheffield (UK) study
– 20% reduction in admission.
• Alfred Hospital study
–
–
–
–
Cardiac & OPD tests increased [vs. ED treated patients]
Faster access to EST and myoc perfusion studies
Reduced admissions and increased discharged home
Near double cost per patient [vs. ED treated patients]
• Can lead to decrease in invasive testing
– e.g. US hosp reported 17% decrease coronary angiograms
• www.SCPCP.org
– chest pain unit references [members only]
Patient expectations > best practice
now for medico-legal defence
• Bollam overturned by Rogers vs Whittaker
• Bollam vs Frien 1957
• “sufficient if exercises the ordinary skill of an ordinary competent
man exercising that particular art”
• Rogers vs Whittaker 1990s
• What a reasonable patient might expect from care takes
precedence even over consensus of expert, evidence-based
opinion
• 1 in 14,000 risk of complications should have been advised to the
patient even though not done by expert peers
• Duty of care to ensure follow-up post-ED
– ED referral to GP for follow-up incl. cardiology
Expertise transfer
• Nothing now available beats good clinical
judgment & experience
– Too many variables for paper-based system
– Computerised tools could assist when available
• Regular case-driven medical education remains
the mainstay
• At best, decision tree helps junior staff risk
stratify & start safe management until expert
makes diagnosis
– Ideal as check list of minimum standards
Proposed ED Chest Pain CHANGES
FURY
• Current pathways robust and work well for low risk
UA and AMI (near 100% compliance) – useful
audit tool and safety net for junior doctors
• ED now refers low risk patients to Gen MED
because cardiologist prefer to have patient
identified with an inpatient team for follow-up,
results etc.
• Tighten entry to low risk care system by 24
hour senior clinician ‘gatekeeper’
• Improve Winter Plan by triage system &
criteria to restrict access to telemetry beds
Proposed ED Chest Pain CHANGES
ELECTRA
• Develop protocol for junior staff to assess
chest pain in ED
– minimum expected tests, linked to follow-up
– overcome view that initial negative tests mean
‘rule out’ of AMI, risk.
• Start thrombolysis in ED
Proposed ED Chest Pain CHANGES
THUNDER
• Refine wording of current protocol
• basically happy with it
• May remove Myoglobin and rapid
Troponins from protocol
• only centre here using [not being used now to
change clinical management]
Proposed ED Chest Pain CHANGES
VEGA
• Happy with current assessment tool and pathway
• Funding and staffing needed for earlier
access to EST
– Low risk chest pains now admitted as the only
way to ensure assessment
Proposed ED Chest Pain CHANGES
CAPELLA
• Establish a protocol to manage these
patients
• Consider continuous ST monitoring in ED
for patients with initial normal ECG
– while waiting for 9-12 hour Troponin
• Streamline ED access to cardiology
assessment
Proposed ED Chest Pain CHANGES
EAGLE
– Current chest pain triage protocol works well
• Improve reliability of EST timeliness with followup for low risk patients discharged home from
ED
– improve access and follow up for EST < 1 week after
ED with scheduled OPD notified to patient and
documented in notes
• Consider ED-based Point of Care testing for
Troponins
Proposed ED Chest Pain CHANGES
TORNADO
• Continue TASC Project
• Consider initial and 12 hour Troponin tests [now
8 hours after]
– would these change our management?
• Organise more formal EST follow-up for low risk
patients sent home from ED
• Regular chest pain/ECG education sessions for
junior RMO at start of every term
Proposed ED Chest Pain CHANGES
CONDOR
• No pathways or protocols; happy with medical staff education
• Implemented test ordering before documenting history to expedite test ordering.
• Show all ECGs to a senior doctor in ED before to Specialist
– should prompt ongoing teaching for junior doctors
• Review appropriateness of ED routinely monitoring all Triage 2
chest pains without ongoing pain/problems
– Problem ceasing monitor when transfer to cardiology and remain in ED
– Show initial ECG to doctor then decide monitor second stage decision.
• ED staff to establish criteria to restrict access to monitoring in ED
or transfer to CCU
– after 6 hour/second troponin with normal ECG, transfer patient to CCU for
monitoring if desired by cardiologist.
• Improve reliability of EST follow-up
– now via local GP – consider routine OPD review as alternative
Proposed ED Chest Pain CHANGES
CYCLONE
• Chest pain guidelines in the process of being
implemented
• Organise timely EST for ED discharged patients
– OPD or may need roster in private practices to
improve access
• Improve liaison between cardiology and ED
junior medical staff
– e.g. monthly joint audit and education meeting
Proposed ED Chest Pain CHANGES
COUGAR
– No problems with test access or EDCardiology relationship
• Re-assess Troponin frequency
• Eductaional discharge letter sent home
with patients about their care
– to advise them about the ED assessment
process they have just been through and to
urge compliance with follow-up arrangements
Proposed ED Chest Pain CHANGES
ALTAIR
• Improve ‘gate-keeping’ at ED ConsultantRegistrar levels for inter-hospital referrals
• Improve collaboration between private and
public cardiology services
– To improve access to EST and community
follow-up
Proposed ED Chest Pain CHANGES
STORM
• EBM-based indications for monitoring patients to reduce
current ED over-crowding
• Review causes of ED Access Block
– resolve inpatient bed management processes
• Protocol to improve discharge strategies from ED Obs
Ward - Chest Pain unit
– consider starting B blocker, plus Aspirin and Statin while waiting
for outpatient EST
• Improve direct ED to GP communication by a phone call
as well as current letter
• Improve access to thallium scans