title: Imaging of non-cardiac, non-traumatic causes of acute chest pain.
abstract: Non-traumatic chest pain is a common symptom in patients who present in the emergency department. From a clinical point of view, it is important to differentiate cardiac chest pain from non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP). Among the plethora of potential causes of NCCP, life-threatening diseases, such as aortic dissection, pulmonary embolism, tension pneumothorax, and esophageal rupture, must be differentiated from non-life threatening causes. The majority of NCCP, however, is reported to be benign in nature. The presentation of pain plays an important role in narrowing the differential diagnosis and initiating further diagnostic management and treatment. As the benign causes tend to recur, and may lead to patient anxiety and great costs, a meticulous evaluation of the patient is necessary to diagnose the underlying disorder or disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria. daniela.kienzl@meduniwien.ac.at
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kienzl
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Prosch
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Töpker
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Herold
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis