The Ottawa Chest Pain Cardiac Monitoring Rule

Dr. Venkatesh Thiruganasambandamoorthy, a CANet Investigator, was the senior author of a study published yesterday by the CMAJ.
Chest pain is the second most common reason for emergency visits across Canada, and accounts for approximately 1 million visits annually. Of those chest pain patients, 70 per cent will be placed on a monitored bed in the emergency department (ED), blocking access to other sicker patients with greater need of a monitored bed. However, only 1.9 per cent of all chest pain patients will develop any arrhythmia during their emergency stay.
The published study validated the Ottawa Chest Pain Cardiac Monitoring Rule, a tool that identifies low-risk patients who can be removed from cardiac monitoring. The tool can also be implemented at triage for diverting these low-risk patients to the ambulatory (non-monitored) section of the ED. By using the tool, 1/3 of all chest patients currently utilizing monitored beds for several hours can be diverted or removed from cardiac monitors. The outcomes of this research will mean better utilization of health resources and a reduction in ED wait times.
Congratulations to Dr. Thiruganasambandamoorthy and his team of researchers (many of whom are CANet HQP and investigators) on your recent publication.