EQUITY IN THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF CHEST PAIN - GENDER, AGE, COMORBIDITY

Objective: To explore age and gender equity in emergency room treatmen t of chest pain. Methods: 1,013 patient records for a calendar year we re analyzed from three hospitals of varying sizes. Diagnostic and trea tment data were compared by major independent variables, using comorbi d status and clinic size as covariates. Results: The ANCOVA procedure indicated that males received significantly more clinical procedures t han did females. Significant, but explainable, differences by age were also observed. Conclusion: This study demonstrates a lack of equity b y gender and age in the treatment of chest pain emergencies. Clinic si ze is also an important factor.