The prevalence of non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) using emergency department (ED) data: a Northern Ireland based study

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of chest pain presentations and the subsequent non-cardiac chest pain diagnoses in an emergency department (ED) over a 3 year period. METHODS: Administrative data on ED attendances to an urban general hospital in Northern Ireland between March 2013 and March 2016 were used. Data were coded and analysed to estimate frequencies of ‘chest pain’ presentation and the subsequent diagnoses for each year. RESULTS: Both chest pain presentations and chest pain presentations with a subsequent diagnosis of unknown cause increased each year. In total, 58.7% of all chest presentations across 3 years resulted in a non-cardiac diagnosis of either ‘anxiety’, ‘panic’ or ‘chest pain of unknown cause’. DISCUSSION: There is a significant amount of patients in the ED leaving with a non-cardiac diagnosis, following an initial presentation with chest pain. CONCLUSION: Given the link between non-cardiac chest pain and frequent use of services, the degree of repeat attendance should be investigated.