• Amy V Ferry, Fiona E Strachan, Stacey D Stewart, Lucy Marshall, Kuan K Lee, Atul Anand, ShahAnoop S VASVBHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Usher Institute of Population Health Science and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom., Andrew R Chapman, Nicholas L Mills, and Sarah Cunningham-Burley.
• BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Electronic address: amy.ferry@ed.a.cuk.
• Ann Emerg Med. 2020 Apr 1; 75 (4): 502513502-513.

Study ObjectiveHigh-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays enable myocardial infarction to be excluded in the emergency department (ED). As part of a prospective clinical trial, we explore how introducing an early rule-out pathway may affect patient experience of chest pain.MethodsIn a qualitative study, participants presenting to the ED with suspected acute coronary syndrome, and for whom the diagnosis of myocardial infarction was excluded, were interviewed before (n=23) or after (n=26) implementation of an early rule-out pathway. Preimplementation, diagnosis of myocardial infarction was excluded on serial troponin testing requiring admission to the hospital. Postimplementation, diagnosis could be excluded in the ED, enabling direct patient discharge. Semistructured interviews exploring the patients' illness experience were conducted approximately 1 week postdischarge, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically. Themes emerging pre- and postimplementation are described.ResultsCommon themes emerged across both pathways: participants commonly sought health care advice before presenting to the ED; a discordance may exist between the objective interpretation of troponin results by clinicians and the patients' experience of illness; and pretest information, trust in the clinician, and active listening may enhance reassurance gained from negative test results. Other themes related to the care pathway were that routine care procedures appeared to be a source of frustration for participants requiring hospital admission, and patients assessed with the early rule-out pathway appeared less likely to appraise their future health status.ConclusionThe early rule-out of myocardial infarction may be enhanced by recognition of patient out-of-hospital experience and improved communication surrounding reassurance and future cardiovascular health goals.Copyright © 2019 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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