A Prospective Cohort Study to Refine and Validate the Panic Screening Score for Identifying Panic Attacks Associated With Unexplained Chest Pain in the Emergency Department

Panic-like anxiety ( panic attacks with or without panic disorder), a highly treatable condition, is the most prevalent condition associated with unexplained chest pain in the emergency department. Panic-like anxiety may be responsible for a significant portion of the negative consequences of unexplained chest pain, such as functional limitations and chronicity. However, more than 92% of panic-like anxiety cases remain undiagnosed at the time of discharge from the emergency department. The 4-item Panic Screening Score questionnaire was derived in order to increase the identification of panic-like anxiety in emergency department patients with unexplained chest pain.

The goals of this prospective cohort study are to (1) refine the Panic Screening Score; (2) validate the revised version of the Panic Screening Score; (3) measure the reliability of the revised version of the Panic Screening Score and (4) assess the acceptability of the instrument among emergency physicians.