Frank sign in patients with acute coronary syndrome applying to the emergency department

Introduction and Aim: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the most common cardiovascular disorders and one of the leading causes of global death. CAD causes myocardial ischemia and manifests as chronic coronary syndromes (CCS) or acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Early recognition of patients with acute coronary syndrome in emergency departments and initiation of early treatment are of vital importance. Early diagnosis is essential to provide an adequate treatment that reduces mortality, relieves symptoms, and improves quality of life. The aim of this study is to observe the Frank sign in patients diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome who applied to the emergency department and to obtain information about the effect of the evaluation of this finding on the diagnosis process. Materials and Methods: The sample of this descriptive and cross-sectional study consisted of 100 patients diagnosed with ACS who applied to the Emergency Service (AS) of Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Hospital between December 2022 and January 2023. The data were collected by two nurses who either took pictures of the ear pictures of the patients ears in-person or marked the ear picture in the data collection form, recorded it in the form. Statistical analyzes were made in IBM SPSS Statistics Version 22 package program. Mean±standard deviation, percentile distributions, independent sample t-test, Chi-square test, ROC analysis, Mann Whitney U test were used to evaluate the data. p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: A total of 100 patients diagnosed with ACS participated in the study. Of the patients diagnosed with ACS, 65 (65%) were male, while 35 (35%) were female. The mean age of the patients diagnosed with ACS included in our study was 67.16±13.52. Frank sign was observed in 50 (50%) of the patients diagnosed with ACS who participated in the study, and this symptom was not observed in the other 50 patients (50%). It was observed in the left ear (29%).(p<0.05) Conclusion: Frank's sign is an observable, simple, noninvasive, effective method, and it shows if the risk is high and alert the health care providers;therefore it can speed up the diagnosis process. Patients with acute coronary syndrome who apply to the emergency department, and it can speed up the diagnosis process by alerting health professionals.