RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access

Prevalence and prognosis of non-specific chest pain among patients hospitalized for suspected acute coronary syndrome- a systematic literature search Vidar Ruddox1*†, Mariann Mathisen2 and Jan Erik Otterstad1† Background: The term non-specific chest pain (NSCP) is applied to hospitalized patients in order to designate that they neither have an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) nor display evidence of a coronary ischemia. The number of NSCP patients is increasing and comprehensive guidelines specifying their optimal management have not yet been introduced. The objective of this review was to explore the prevalence and prognosis of NSCP versus ACS among patients recruited in consecutive series hospitalized for chest pain suspected to be ACS. Methods: This is a systematic literature search where three databases were searched from 1990 to 14 November 2011. In addition, one database was searched for Epub ahead of print per 24 March 2012. Three inclusion criteria were applied: 1. documentation of an unselected consecutive series of patients admitted for chest pain, where this review is based upon two groups of patients defined as follows: a) ‘ACS/high-risk ’ and b) NSCP; 2. at least 100 cases with NSCP; and 3. follow-up of hospital readmissions and mortality for at least six months