Pharmacotherapeutic approaches to acute chest conditions: Insights from emergency medicine and pharmacy for general practitioners

Abstract

Acute chest pain is the primary symptom for several life-threatening diseases that require instant intervention.  A correct diagnosis is often delayed and clinical uncertainty is widespread, and mortality rates continue to be high among adults and children with acute chest conditions, such as pulmonary embolism (PE) and acute chest syndrome (ACS). This systematic review emphasizes the significance of pharmacotherapeutic approaches for general practitioners in diagnosing, managing and treating acute chest conditions. Pharmacotherapeutic approaches can be employed by general practitioners to enhance patients' quality of life, improve pain diagnosis and management, and reduce mortality and hospitalization through using cues from the patient’s clinical history, physical examination, and diagnostic testing (ECG and CXR) in their initial assessment to complete optimal pharmacotherapeutic interventions.