The rate did not differ according to whether or not patients underwent stress testing.
Historically, missed myocardial infarction (MI) was a common reason for malpractice suits, and the rate of missed MI was high. More recent data suggest a miss rate of about 2% (NEJM JW Cardiol Jun 16 2000). Meanwhile, the value of provocative testing has come into question (NEJM JW Emerg Med May 4 2012).
Investigators used a nationwide database of private insurance claims for 2011 to compare the rate of MI between emergency department patients evaluated for chest pain who did and who did not undergo provocative testing. Of 421,774 patients, 30% had a stress test within 7 days of the ED visit and 70% did not. Overall, 0.33% of patients were hospitalized for MI within 190 days of follow-up. The rate of MI did not differ according to whether a …
Reviewing Author
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education
Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CDC; NIH–National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIH–NIAID–Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group; Merck; Pfizer; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Shire; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis; bioMérieux; Siemens; Rapid Pathogen Screening; Magnolia; Stago; Innovative Biosensors; Molecular Detection, Inc.; Dyax Corp.; Trius Pharmaceuticals
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education
Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CDC; NIH–National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIH–NIAID–Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group; Merck; Pfizer; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Shire; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis; bioMérieux; Siemens; Rapid Pathogen Screening; Magnolia; Stago; Innovative Biosensors; Molecular Detection, Inc.; Dyax Corp.; Trius Pharmaceuticals