Skip to main content

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the low-risk group at the primary care emergency clinic

From: Cost-effectiveness of a rule-out algorithm of acute myocardial infarction in low-risk patients: emergency primary care versus hospital setting

 

OUT-ACS

total

n = 1711

(100%)

Not admitted to hospital

n = 1485

(86.8%)

Admitted to hospital

n = 226

(13.2%)

Male sex, n (%)

895 (52.3)

764 (51.4)

131 (58.0)

Age, median (IQR)

56 (45–68)

55 (44–66)

63.5 (51–73)

Risk factors for CVD, n (%)

 Current/history of smoking

449 (26.2)

387 (26.1)

62 (27.4)

 Previous coronary artery disease

317 (18.5)

262 (17.6)

55 (24.3)

 Hypertension

448 (26.2)

379 (25.5)

69 (30.5)

 Dyslipidaemia

422 (24.7)

369 (24.8)

53 (23.5)

 Other CVDa

288 (16.8)

228 (15.4)

60 (26.5)

 Diabetes mellitus

171 (10.0)

143 (9.6)

28 (12.4)

 COPD

80 (4.7)

58 (3.9)

22 (9.7)

 Family history of CVD

691 (40.4)

603 (40.6)

87 (38.5)

Presenting acute symptoms (%)

 Chest pain

1486 (86.8)

1301 (87.6)

184 (81.4)

  Constricting

1239 (72.4)

1082 (72.9)

157 (69.5)

  Sharp

404 (23.6)

358 (24.1)

46 (20.4)

  Tearing

64 (3.7)

58 (3.9)

6 (2.7)

  Burning

208 (12.2)

183 (12.3)

25 (11.1)

  Respiratory dependent

302 (17.7)

251 (16.9)

51 (22.6)

  Chest wall tenderness

205 (12.0)

184 (12.4)

21 (9.3)

  Movement dependent

219 (12.8)

197 (13.3)

21 (9.3)

 Other pain (abdomen, back, neck)

48 (2.8)

39 (2.6)

9 (4.0)

 No pain

177 (10.3)

144 (9.7)

33 (14.6)

 Pain radiation

972 (56.8)

865 (58.2)

135 (59.7)

 Dyspnea

901 (52.7)

768 (51.7)

133 (58.8)

 Palpitations

637 (37.2)

558 (37.6)

79 (35.0)

 Syncope/pre-syncope

460 (26.9)

391 (26.3)

69 (30.5)

 Acute fatigue

571 (33.4)

488 (32.9)

83 (36.7)

 Nausea and/or vomiting

732 (42.8)

641 (43.2)

91 (40.3)

 Diaphoresis

561 (32.8)

490 (33.0)

71 (31.4)

First ECG, n (%)

 Normal

1515 (88.5)

1332 (89.7)

183 (81.0)

 Non-specific changesb

196 (11.5)

153 (10.3)

43 (19.0)

Symptom onset to first hs-cTnT, n (%)

  < 3 h

182 (10.6)

161 (10.8)

21 (9.3)

 3 – 5.99 h

609 (35.6)

532 (35.8)

77 (34.1)

 6 – 11.99 h

409 (23.9)

336 (22.6)

73 (32.3)

  > 12 h

511 (29.9)

456 (30.7)

55 (24.3)

According to the 0/1-h algorithm

 Rule-out (0/1 h)

1311 (76.6)

1232 (83.0)

79 (35.0)

 Observation group (0/1 h)

334 (20.5)

243 (16.4)

91 (40.3)

 Rule-in (0/1 h)

66 (3.9)

10 (0.7)

56 (24.8)

HEART risk score

 Low risk (0–3 points)

871 (50.9)

805 (54.2)

66 (29.2)

 Intermediate risk (4–6 points)

760 (44.4)

633 (42.6)

127 (56.2)

 High risk (7–10 points)

80 (4.7)

47 (3.2)

33 (14.6)

Endpoints

 Myocardial infarctions at index

61 (3.6)

1 (0.1)

60 (26.5)

 Myocardial infarctions after 30 days

3 (0.2)

3 (0.2)

0 (0.0)

 Myocardial infarctions after 90 days

2 (0.1)

1 (0.1)

1 (0.4)

 Deaths after 30 days

5 (0.3)

1 (0.1)

4 (1.8)

 Deaths after 90 days

4 (0.2)

1 (0.1)

3 (1.3)

  1. All values are presented as n (%) or median (IQR). As the low-risk hospital cohort was obtained from administrative data only, we do not have additional baseline characteristics for these patients. However, for the purpose of this analysis, we consider the non-hospitalised OUT-ACS cohort comparable to the low-risk patients at Drammen hospital
  2. COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, CVD Cardiovascular disease, ECG Electrocardiogram, hs-cTnT High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T, IQR Interquartile range; One hoUr Troponin in a low-prevalence of Acute Coronary Syndrome
  3. aIncludes atrial fibrillation, other arrhythmias, cardiomyopathies, cerebral stroke, heart failure, or valvular disease
  4. bNon-specific changes in either the ST-segment, T-inversions, Q-waves, atrial fibrillation, pacemaker or left/right bundle branch block of unknown clinical significance
Back to article page

BMC Health Services Research

ISSN: 1472-6963

Contact us