Standardized reporting guidelines for studies evaluating risk stratification of emergency department patients with potential acute coronary syndromes

Researchers evaluating patients with potential acute coronary syndromes have incorporated a wide range of eligible patients, historical factors, and outcome characteristics into their studies, which has led to difficulty comparing results and conclusions of diagnostic and prognostic studies. The patient selection criteria, time intervals, and positive test and outcome definitions vary greatly between studies and investigators. As a result, Emergency Medicine Cardiac Research and Education Group-International initiated an effort to standardize operational definitions and reporting of studies involving emergency department patients with potential acute coronary syndromes. These recommendations balance scientific rigor with practicality in an effort to increase the likelihood of obtaining scientifically valid data that may affect care of emergency cardiac patients. These guidelines have been endorsed by the Society of Academic EmergencyMedicine, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American Heart Association, and the American College of Cardiology.