Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Radiol. Aug 28, 2022; 14(8): 311-318
Published online Aug 28, 2022. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v14.i8.311
Triple rule-out computed tomography angiography: Evaluation of acute chest pain in COVID-19 patients in the emergency department
Suzan Bahadir, Sonay Aydın, Mecit Kantarci, Edhem Unver, Erdal Karavas, Düzgün Can Şenbil
Suzan Bahadir, Department of Radiology, Baskent University, Antalya 07000, Turkey
Sonay Aydın, Erdal Karavas, Düzgün Can Şenbil, Department of Radiology, Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University, Erzincan 24100, Turkey
Mecit Kantarci, Department of Radiology, Ataturk University, Erzurum 25100, Turkey
Edhem Unver, Department of Chest Disease, Erzincan Binali Yildirim University, Erzincan 24100, Turkey
Author contributions: Aydın S, Bahadır S, Kantarcı M, and Karavas E designed the research study; Bahadır S, Ünver E, Şenbil DC, and Karavas E performed the research; Aydın S and Bahadır S contributed new reagents and analytic tools; Aydın S, Karavas E, and Şenbil DC analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by our Institutional Review Board (Erzincan Binali Yıldrım University Faculty of Medicine protocol number kaek-ebyu-2020/03/14) and as it was a retrospective study, written informed consent was waived.
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study because the analysis used anonymous clinical data that were obtained after each patient agreed to treatment by written consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No author has any conflict of interest to declare in this study.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Düzgün Can Şenbil, MD, Academic Research, Doctor, Department of Radiology, Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University, Hacı Ali Akın Street, Erzincan 24100, Turkey. can.senbil@erzincan.edu.tr
Received: April 11, 2022
Peer-review started: April 11, 2022
First decision: May 30, 2022
Revised: May 30, 2022
Accepted: August 5, 2022
Article in press: August 5, 2022
Published online: August 28, 2022
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

The aim of this study was to define clinical evidence supporting that triple rule-out computed tomography angiography (TRO CTA) is a comprehensive and feasible diagnostic tool in patients with novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who were admitted to the emergency department for acute chest pain. Optimizing diagnostic imaging strategies in COVID-19 related thromboembolic events, will help for rapid and noninvasive diagnoses and results will be effective for patients and healthcare systems in all aspects.

Research motivation

Acute chest pain in COVID 19 patients becomes more difficult due to increasing differential diagnosis. TRO CTA helps diagnosis by excluding pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE), coronary artery disease, and acute aortic syndrome at the same time.

Research objectives

To decrease the morbidity and mortality rates in patients.

Research methods

Our study is a retrospective study.

Research results

No pathology was detected in 31 of 57 patients included in the study. PTE was detected in 11 patients. The diabetes mellitus rate was much higher in the acute coronary syndrome group, particularly in the PTE group. The rate of dyslipidemia was significantly higher in the group with pathology on CTA while compared to those without pathology apart from imaging findings of the pneumonia group

Research conclusions

TRO CTA can be a useful method in the differential diagnosis of COVID-19 patients who present to the emergency department with chest pain.

Research perspectives

The use of TRO CTA will reduce mortality and morbidity as it will accelerate the diagnosis and treatment process in the future. Studies will proceed in this direction.