BMJ  2004;328 (31 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7434.0-c

Acute chest pain? Better go to a chest pain unit

Care in a chest pain observation unit improves outcomes and may reduce costs to the health service. Goodacre and collagues (p 254) randomised 972 patients who presented with acute undifferentiated chest pain either to care delivered in a chest observation unit or to routine care. Fewer patients who went to the chest pain unit were admitted to hospital and were discharged with acute coronary syndrome, but the proportion with cardiac events was the same. The saving per patient in the chest pain unit was £78, and health utility was improved.

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Relevant Article

Randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation of a chest pain observation unit compared with routine care

Steve Goodacre, Jon Nicholl, Simon Dixon, Elizabeth Cross, Karen Angelini, Jane Arnold, Sue Revill, Tom Locker, Simon J Capewell, Deborah Quinney, Stephen Campbell, and Francis Morris
BMJ 2004 328: 254. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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