False-positive rates of provocative cardiac testing in chest pain patients admitted to an emergency department observation unit.

Emergency department observation units (EDOUs) typically perform routine cardiac stress testing or coronary computed tomography (CCTA) to rule out ischemic cardiac chest pain. Some have questioned the utility of routine stress testing and advanced anatomic imaging in the low-risk chest pain patients. EDOU chest pain patients undergoing stress testing or CCTA prior to cardiac catheterization between June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2012 were studied in a prospective, observational manner.