CARPA - non-cardiac chest pain evaluation and treatment study, 2006-2008

Chest pains are a frequent cause for hospitalisation. In patients with acute chest pains the primary objective is to rule out or treat potentially life-threatening conditions particularly coronary thrombosis. Chest pains can, however, have a number of other causes such as abdominal pains, pain in the lungs or muscular pain in the joints of the neck, back or chest wall. Approximately half of the patients admitted to the hospital will never have an explanation for the cause of their chest pains. These patients are at risk of a prolonged course of disease with recurring pain, depression, anxiety and reduced capacity to work. 305 patients who where discharged from the coronary care unit without a definitive diagnosis participated in this study. Thirty-eight per cent of these patients had a locomotor system condition, which could be relieved through chiropractic treatments. The patients where examined at baseline, after four weeks, twelve weeks and fifty-two weeks. The data in this study are based on the baseline examination.