The financial burden of emergency department congestion and hospital crowding for chest pain patients awaiting admission.

Study Objective: We determined the additional cost of an extended emergency department (ED) length of stay for chest pain patients awaiting non-ICU, monitored (telemetry) beds.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of all ED chest pain patients aged 24 years or older and admitted to a telemetry bed in an urban university hospital during a 12-month period. Structured ED data collection included demographics, chest pain presentation, medical history, and laboratory test and ECG results.