[Use of multislice CT in the evaluation of patients with acute chest pain]

Praxis (Bern 1994). 2010 Apr 28;99(9):545-52. doi: 10.1024/1661-8157/a000104.
[Article in German]

Abstract

Acute chest pain is a common symptom but triage decisions in these patients remain a challenge. Patient's history, cardiac enzyme levels, or electrocardiograms often are unspecific. Nowadays, multidetector-row computed tomography (CT) currently represents the imaging modality of choice for diagnosing or excluding pulmonary embolism (PE) or acute aortic syndrome (AAS). Furthermore, recent studies have demonstrated advantages for non-invasive imaging of the coronary arteries by CT. The so called triple rule-out CT allows the depiction of the pulmonary arteries, the thoracic aorta, and the coronary arteries within a single examination with a simultaneous attenuation of these three vessel territories. This enables the detection of life-threatening such as PE, AAS and ACS, as well as of non-life-threatening diseases causing acute chest pain.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Acute Coronary Syndrome / diagnostic imaging
  • Acute Disease
  • Algorithms
  • Aortic Diseases / diagnostic imaging
  • Chest Pain / diagnosis
  • Chest Pain / diagnostic imaging*
  • Coronary Angiography
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Electrocardiography
  • Emergencies
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pulmonary Embolism / diagnostic imaging
  • Radiography, Thoracic*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed*
  • Triage