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Subject Area

Dermatology

Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of multidetector computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of noncardiac causes of chest pain. Background Noncardiac chest pain is common in the general population and impacts significantly the quality of life, yet only a minority seeks medical attention. Patients and methods This study was carried out as a cross-sectional study and included 55 patients who presented with acute or chronic chest pain and some of them had with chest pain one or more of the following symptoms and signs: cough, fever, dyspnea, hemoptysis, and bulging mass. They were recruited from the Radiology Department of Menoufia University Hospital and Al-Azhar University Hospital within the period from February 2016 to December 2017; their ages ranged between 1 and 75 years. An informed consent was obtained from all participants in this research after full explanation of the benefits and risks of the CT examination. All patients were clinically evaluated and had routine assessment and underwent multidetector CT chest examination. Results According to chest CT diagnosis of the studied population, infection (30.9%) and pulmonary embolism (12.7%) were the most common diagnosis. Regarding the ability of CT to diagnose bronchogenic carcinoma, the sensitivity and specificity were found to be 83 and 50%, respectively, and for pulmonary embolism the sensitivity and specificity were found to be 100 and 100%, respectively. Conclusion Chest pain is one of the most common presenting symptoms for patients coming to the emergency department. Contrast-enhanced multidetector CT has replaced previous invasive diagnostic procedures when there is the clinical suspicion of pulmonary embolism or acute aortic syndrome.

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