17 Feb Tool Can Help Avoid Overtesting in Evaluation of Chest Pain

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. James Udelson

James E. Udelson, MD
Chief, Division of Cardiology
Director, Nuclear Cardiology Laboratory
Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine  

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: There are millions of stress tests done every year in the United States and many of them are normal,” said James Udelson, MD, Chief of the Division of Cardiology at Tufts Medical Center and the senior investigator on the study. “We thought that if we could predict the outcome of these tests by using information we already had from the patient before the test, we could potentially save the health care system money and save our patients time and worry.”   We were able to get a strong prediction of the possibility of having entirely normal testing and no clinical events such as a heart attack, by developing a risk prediction tool using ten clinical variables that are commonly available to a physician during an evaluation”

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: It is potentially possible that a clinician can estimate the possibility of having a normal imaging test for coronary artery disease before it is done, by using several available pieces of information. The clinician and the patient can then discuss whether the test might be deferred.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Response: It would be important to see if this tool works similarly in other large data sets of patients having testing, to confirm its value. 

MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Response: The trial form which these data were developed, the “PROMISE” trial, was funded by the NIH and NHLBI

MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.

Citation:
Christopher B. Fordyce, Pamela S. Douglas, Rhonda S. Roberts, Udo Hoffmann, Hussein R. Al-Khalidi, Manesh R. Patel, Christopher B. Granger, John Kostis, Daniel B. Mark, Kerry L. Lee, James E. Udelson.Identification of Patients With Stable Chest Pain Deriving Minimal Value From Noninvasive Testing. JAMA Cardiology, 2017; DOI: 1001/jamacardio.2016.5501

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Last Updated on February 17, 2017 by Marie Benz MD FAAD