Abstract

Acute chest pain (ACP) is one of the most common reasons in adults regarding visits to the emergency department (ED). The triple-rule-out CTA (TRO CTA) is feasible to evaluate ACP in the ED and potentially lead to earlier triage. However, just a few patients with ACP were evaluated with the protocol of TRO CTA, one of the major reasons which preclude the TRO CTA to be a routine diagnostic tool is the associated radiation dose. Herein we review the variety of techniques which can reduce the radiation dose during TRO CTA. With reasonable application of those techniques, the radiation dose can be reduced obviously, and the patients suffered from ACP will benefit from TRO CTA with techniques of reducing radiation dose.

Keywords: Acute chest pain, CT Angiography, Triple-rule-out, Radiation dose, ECG-gating, Pitch.