Coronary CTA in the Emergency Department: A Hands-On Workshop

This two-day course begins with a four-hour didactic session on Chest Pain Patient Assessment in the Emergency Department. At this Hands-on Workshop, participants utilizing dedicated workstations will review over 50 supervised coronary CTA cases of patients presenting with acute chest pain to the ER. The focus will be on best-practice strategies for the use of coronary CTA and triple rule-out CT protocol to properly diagnose, detect and evaluate ER patients with acute chest pain or other symptoms suggestive of coronary artery syndrome.

Topics: Effectively utilize coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) and triple rule-out CT protocol to properly diagnose, detect and evaluate emergency department patients with acute chest pain or other symptoms suggestive of coronary artery syndrome. Apply the basic and more advanced interpretation principles of coronary CTA datasets. Explain the relationship between coronary CTA findings and the clinical outcome of patients with acute chest pain. Utilize the appropriate noninvasive studies to assess risk of acute coronary syndrome. Cite the benefits and limitations of electrocardiogram, biomarkers and imaging. Implement essential components of patient preparation for CTA. Formulate radiation reduction strategies based on scanning methods. Determine which emergency room patients will benefit most from assessment with CTA. Identify the benefits and drawbacks of utilizing CTA imaging studies. Detect and differentiate CTA appearances of acute conditions of the abdominal aorta. Diagnose and treat life-threatening causes of chest pain.