National trends in chest pain visits in US emergency departments (2006-2016)

Abstract

Background: Chest pain is a common complaint in EDs. In this study, we describe demographic, care and cost trends in US ED visits for chest pain over 11 years.

Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study of trends in utilisation and care of ED chest pain visits from 2006 to 2016) using data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project database, a national sample of US ED visits and hospitalisations.

Results: From 2006 to 2016, there were 42.48 million chest pain visits. Visits per 100 000 persons increased from 1140.4 in 2006 to 1611.7 in 2016 (p<0.001). The chest pain inpatient admission rate declined from 19% in 2006 to 3.9% in 2016 (p<0.001); associated inpatient hospitalisation costs declined from $10.4 billion (2006-2008) to $6.2 billion (2012-2014).

Conclusion: From 2006 to 2016, ED visits in the USA for chest pain increased with a significant decline in admission rates and inpatient hospitalisation costs.

Keywords: acute coronary syndrome; admission avoidance; cardiac care; chest; emergency care systems; emergency department utilisation.