Background/ Aim: Chest pain is the second cause of Emergency Department (ED) visit in the United States with almost six million ED visits annually. According to the guidelines, first ECG for a patient presenting with chest pain should be done within a 10-minute period of the patient arrival. This clinical audit aims to evaluate the time needed for a patient with chest pain to have an ECG performed. Methods: This clinical audit was done at Al-Qasmi Hospital in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. All ECGs records, from 1st July 2016 to 2nd November 2016, were collected from the reception desk at the ED. The time of triage room and the first ECG’s time were recorded. Results:Twelve thousand ECGs had no personal information, nor medical record number and, thus were excluded. 28 patients (20%) had chest pain. Other complaints included dizziness, shortness of breath, palpitations, and others. 18 patients (72.0%) had their first ECGs performed within 10 minutes of triage room entry. The mean of patient presentation-to-ECG time was 14:45 minutes (+/- 4:29 minutes). Conclusion/ Recommendation: The mean of patient presentation-to-ECG time for patients with chest pain was beyond the recommended timeframe. Therefore, some interventions might be needed. First of all, the exact time of patient’s arrival to ED should be recorded. Also, ECGs records should have patient identification, and later documented and archived properly. Also, staff education about the guidelines and indications of ECG at triage room might be helpful.
