Feasibility, diagnostic performance and clinical value of an abbreviated echocardiography protocol in an out-patient cardiovascular setting: a pilot study.

Background: There has been a growing demand for echocardiography services over the last 5 years, with this supply-demand mismatch exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior studies have suggested a high proportion of normal findings among echocardiograms requested for patients without known cardiovascular disease, particularly in low-risk cohorts. This pilot study investigates the role of an abbreviated echocardiography protocol in improving access to echocardiography services in a low-risk outpatient setting within the rapid access chest pain (RACP) clinic.

Implementation of NICE Clinical Guideline 95 for assessment of stable chest pain in a rapid access chest pain clinic reduces the mean number of investigations and cost per patient.

Objective: In 2010, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK published Clinical Guideline 95 (CG95) advocating risk stratification of patients using 'CADScore' to guide appropriate cardiac investigations for chest pain of recent onset. Implementation of the guideline in the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was evaluated to see if it led to a reduction in the average cost of the diagnostic journey per patient and fewer investigations per patient in order to confirm a diagnosis.

Methods: This was a single centre study at a Tertiary Centre in Central London.

Cardiac 82Rubidium PET/CT: initial European experience.

Purpose: Myocardial perfusion with PET/CT has advantages over conventional SPECT. We describe our initial European experience using (82)Rubidium-PET/CT, as part of a clinical myocardial perfusion service.

Methods: We studied the first 100 patients (64 male; 36 female, mean age = 60: SD +/-12.