Assessing and Improving Health Care Provider's Knowledge and Treatment of Panic-like Anxiety and Unexplained Chest Pain in the Emergency Department

This project assesses the knowledge and attitudes of health care providers (HCPs) in the emergency department (ED) of a 120-bed teaching hospital, regarding patients who present with unexplained chest pain (UCP), who may be suffering from panic-like anxiety (PLA). Several researchers have found that approximately 5% of patients who present for treatment in a typical ED, do so for complaint of chest pain (CP). However, in as many as 77% of these cases, no lifethreatening cause is ever found. Nevertheless, these patients continue to seek an explanation for their symptoms, sometimes for as much as 12 years after their first episode. A total of 12 ED RNs completed a questionnaire after viewing a PowerPoint presentation, a brochure, and a 4x6 information card. A survey of participants' attitudes and intent to change practice was analyzed using a two-tailed Wilcoxon signed-ranks test (p = .05), with changes score showing significance. If given educational materials and support, these healthcare providers expressed intent to educate their patients about the possible causes of their symptoms. This could decrease the number of times that these patients return to the ED for the same symptoms, which could not only improve the quality of their life, but also decrease the resource burden on the healthcare system.