The investigation of chest pain: audit and intervention.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the patterns of tests requested for patients admitted with chest pain, and to monitor the effects on those patterns of issuing a set of guidelines formulated by an expert panel.

SETTING

Tertiary referral hospital (teaching).

DESIGN

A retrospective audit of the patterns of testing of patients with chest pain compared with testing recommended by an expert panel, followed by comparison with patterns of testing after guidelines were issued.

INTERVENTION

Practice guidelines, based on the expert committee's recommendations, were drawn up for use in the cardiology unit.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Tests per admission, bed days per admission, emergency readmission rate.

PATIENTS

Sixty-seven patients with diagnosis at the time of admission of chest pain and a discharge diagnosis of "intermediate coronary syndrome".

RESULTS

The major finding of the audit was the excessive use of "biochemistry test profiles" instead of targeted tests as recommended by the expert committee. Intervention led to a decrease in the number of tests per admission in the cardiology unit from an average of 22.9 tests in the six months before intervention to 9.7 in the six months after (P < 0.001). There was no effect on bed days per admission or emergency readmission rates.

CONCLUSION

Audit and intervention in a specialised unit of patients with a specified diagnosis led to more cost effective use of the resources of the Royal Melbourne Hospital Department of Biochemistry.