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. 2000 Mar 31;25(5):335-8.
doi: 10.1016/s0212-6567(00)78515-5.

[Acute precordial pain: 100 cases in 3 years]

[Article in Spanish]
A Garaikoetxea  1 , E Vinyoles, C Pareja, J Davins, S Calvet, E Zabaleta
Affiliations

[Acute precordial pain: 100 cases in 3 years]

[Article in Spanish]
A Garaikoetxea et al. Aten Primaria. .

Abstract
in English, Spanish

Objective: To find the effectiveness of diagnoses of acute precordial pain seen as an emergency at our centre.

Design: Observational, descriptive and retrospective study.

Setting: Urban primary care centre.

Patients: The 100 most recent patients who attended as an emergency with their first episode of acute precordial pain were included.

Study period: December 1994 to March 1998. Home visits, patients without medical records and those seen on repeated attendance for precordialgia were excluded.

Measurements and main results: The emergency diagnosis and the diagnosis recorded afterwards in the clinical history of 100 people with acute precordialgia, aged 54.9 (16.7 years; 56% [n = 56] women), were gathered. Ischaemic cardiopathy (41%, n = 41) and mechanical precordialgia (36%, n = 36) were the most common initial diagnoses. We found 66.6% sensitivity and 81.4% specificity in the detection of ischaemic cardiopathy. The proportion of diagnostic errors was not linked to the pathological history of anxiety, ischaemic cardiopathy or oesophageal disease.

Conclusions: 41% of precordialgias are diagnosed as presumably ischaemic and are potentially serious, although only 50% of them are confirmed as such. Our sensitivity in their diagnosis is comparable to that of other studies.

Objetivo: Conocer la efectividad diagnóstica frente al dolor precordial agudo atendido de urgencias en nuestro centro.

Diseño: Estudio observacional, descriptivo y retrospectivo.

Emplazamiento: Centro urbano de atención primaria.

Pacientes: Se incluyeron los 100 últimos pacientes que acudieron de urgencias con el primer episodio de dolor precordial agudo. Período de estudio: diciembre de 1994 a marzo de 1998. Se excluyeron las visitas domiciliarias, los pacientes sin historia clínica y los atendidos en visitas sucesivas por precordialgia.

Mediciones y resultados principales: Se recoge el diagnóstico en urgencias y el registrado a posteriori en la historia clínica de 100 sujetos con precordialgia aguda, de edad 54,9 ± 16,7 años, 56 de ellos mujeres (56%). La cardiopatía isquémica y la precordialgia mecánica fueron los diagnósticos iniciales más frecuentes (41% [n = 41] y 36% [n = 36], respectivamente). Tenemos una sensibilidad del 66,6% y una especificidad del 81,4% para la detección de cardiopatía isquémica. La proporción de errores diagnósticos no se asociaba a los antecedentes patológicos de ansiedad, cardiopatía isquémica o esofágica.

Conclusiones: Un 41% de las precordialgias son de presunto diagnóstico isquémico y potencialmente graves, aunque sólo llegan a confirmarse como tales el 50% de ellas. Nuestra sensibilidad para su diagnóstico es comparable a la de otros estudios.

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