A Care Management Intervention for Non-cardiac Chest Pain (NCCP)

A Care Management Intervention for Non-cardiac Chest Pain: Intervention Development and Feasibility Assessment

The investigators developed and implemented an eight-week multicomponent care management intervention for non-cardiac chest pain. Team members including a cardiologist, nurse, and psychiatrist. Impressions and recommendations were shared with the patient's primary care physician. Measures of chest pain severity, frequency and impact and measures of psychological health and health-related quality of life were completed at baseline and intervention completion.

The investigators developed and implemented an eight-week multicomponent care management intervention for non-cardiac chest pain. The care management team consisted of a nurse, cardiologist, and psychiatrist. Following a one-time consultation visit with the cardiologist and nurse, evaluation and treatment recommendations were conveyed to the participant's primary care physician. Then, the nurse completed eight weekly phone calls with the participant to provide support, introduce therapeutic principles, and assist with coordination of care, under the supervision of a psychiatrist. Intervention feasibility was assessed on several domains including adherence, recruitment, attrition, safety, and data collection. To examine preliminary efficacy, participants completed Likert scales of chest pain symptom severity, frequency and impact, and measures of psychological health (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, General Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire-15) and health-related quality of life (12-Item Short Form Survey) at baseline and intervention completion.

Multicomponent eight-week care management intervention involving a consultation visit with a cardiologist and nurse. Recommendations from the consultation visit are conveyed to the primary care physician. Following the visit, the participant has eight weekly phone calls with a nurse to provide support, introduce therapeutic principals, and assess symptoms. The study nurse is supervised by a psychiatrist.

A priori, feasible adherence was defined as 100% completion of the consultation visit and a mean completion of at least half of the eight phone calls over the eight-week study period.

Collect data on the proportion of individuals interested in the study who meet eligibility criteria for participation

A priori, an attrition rate of less than or equal to 15% was defined as indicating intervention feasibility

Any adverse psychological or physical symptoms were documented throughout the study intervention with appropriate follow-up to ensure safety

12-Item Short Form Survey. Generates a physical health composite summary and a mental health composite summary. The mean score is set to 50 for each composite score. Scores > 50 indicate better physical or mental health-related quality of life than the mean, and scores < 50 indicate worse physical or mental health-related quality of life than the mean.

Inclusion Criteria: Diagnosis of non-cardiac chest pain, defined as chest pain recurring at least once per week for two weeks with at least two of the following objective tests: (1) electrocardiogram without ischemic changes; (2) negative cardiac enzymes; (3) non-ischemic cardiac stress test. Primary care physician affiliated with the institution Exclusion Criteria: History or subsequent diagnosis of cardiac disease Objectively diagnosed alternative medical etiology of chest pain (e.g., gastroesophageal disease) Resolution of chest pain prior to enrollment Cognitive impairment, assessed using a six-item screen Inability to communicate in English Lack of telephone access (precluding weekly phone call participation).

Madva EN, Celano CM, Kim S, Bell M, Radfar A, Ibrahim NE, Dar T, Albanese A, Tawakol A, Huffman JC. A Care Management Intervention for Noncardiac Chest Pain: Treatment Development and Feasibility Assessment. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2022 Apr 19;24(2):21m03045. doi: 10.4088/PCC.21m03045.