Abstract:
Chest discomfort is a common symptom of emergency care seeking. Rapid screening is required for the identification of the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) from benign conditions. This study aims at developing a clinical assessment guideline for screening the chest discomfort-related acute coronary syndrome. An evidence-based guideline was developed and reviewed by a panel of thirteen experts. Three components of the guideline validity were performed and revealed the content validity index of 0.87, 0.88, and 0.90 for its scientific merit, clinical feasibility, safety components and 0.88 for the overall index. To ensure its feasibility, the guideline was evaluated by an implementation in 25 adults with chest discomfort during attendance at the emergency care unit of a community hospital. It revealed that using this screening guideline took 1-5 minutes (mean 2.48?1.02) to complete the symptoms assessment and the electrocardiography (EKG) test. The screening guideline should be adopted in multi-settings of the community hospitals to ensure its effectiveness.
WALAILAK UNIVERSITY. CENTER FOR LIBRARY RESOURCES AND EDUCATIONAL MEDIA