Effects of Trauma Cases on the Care of Patients Who Have Chest Pain in an Emergency Department

BACKGROUND: Trauma victims sometimes take priority over other patients because their injuries require immediate treatment. We examined whether such demands might compromise the care of patients with acute chest pain in an emergency department. METHODS: Case patients were patients with chest pain who arrived immediately after a major trauma victim. Control patients were patients with chest pain who arrived on a preceding day when no trauma patient was in the emergency department. RESULTS: Case and control patients were similar in mean age (60 vs. 60 years, p = not significant), percentage male (47 vs. 53%, p = not significant) and percentage ultimately diagnosed as cardiac (29 vs. 33%, p = not significant). Case patients spent an average of 81 minutes longer in the emergency department (297 vs. 216 minutes, p = 0.009). Similar delays were observed in the subgroup of patients ultimately diagnosed as cardiac (309 vs. 217 minutes, p = 0.029). Case patients had generally worse scores on the American College of Emergency Physicians Quality Assurance Index (75.6 vs. 84.4, p = 0.027), particularly those ultimately diagnosed as cardiac (60.3 vs. 85.1, p = 0.002). The common failures were failure to administer aspirin, undertreatment of ongoing pain, and failure to provide instructions regarding treatment and need to return. CONCLUSION: Trauma victims can decrease the timeliness and quality of care for other patients who have potentially life-threatening conditions in an emergency department.