Chest CT examinations in patients presenting with acute chest pain

Acute chest pain (ACP) is one of the most common presenting symptoms at the emergency department. The differential diagnosis is vast. To exclude life-threatening causes, radiologists encounter an increasing amount of thoracic computed tomography (CT) examinations including CT angiography of the hear...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Hammer, Sebastiaan, Kroft, Lucia J., Hidalgo, Alberto L., Leta, Rubén|||0000-0003-4691-381X, de Roos, Albert
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2015
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:185418
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/185418
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1007/s13244-015-0429-6
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Acute chest syndrome
Chest pain
Chest computed tomography
Cardiac imaging techniques
Emergency care
Descripción
Sumario:Acute chest pain (ACP) is one of the most common presenting symptoms at the emergency department. The differential diagnosis is vast. To exclude life-threatening causes, radiologists encounter an increasing amount of thoracic computed tomography (CT) examinations including CT angiography of the heart and great vessels. The dual- and triple-rule CT examinations are currently implemented in clinical practice. We retrospectively identified chest CT examinations in the setting of acute chest pain in our hospitals and collected a variety of common and uncommon cases. In this pictorial essay, we present the most educative cases from patients who presented with acute chest pain in the emergency department of our hospitals and for whom a thoracic CT was ordered. When aortic emergencies, acute coronary syndrome, and pulmonary embolism are excluded, these cases may help the radiologist to suggest alternative diagnoses in the diagnostic challenge of acute chest pain. Teaching Points • The number of chest CT examinations for ACP is increasing. • Chest CT examinations may help suggesting alternative diagnosis in ACP. • Radiologists should be aware of the differential diagnosis of ACP.