News: Point-of-care troponin assay may facilitate faster rule-out of AMI

A preliminary study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that a new point-of-care troponin assay can safely rule out acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in 15 minutes in a large proportion of patients with symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome, Medscape Today reported.

The researchers found no difference in discrimination between the new point-of-care assay and a high sensitivity troponin comparator assay in ruling out AMI.

In this preliminary study, the researchers assessed plasma samples from 354 adults who presented with symptoms suggestive of AMI to a single urban regional ED in Christchurch, New Zealand, Medscape Today reported.

The new point-of-care assay cannot yet be designated as being a high-sensitivity test because such a status requires extensive population-based testing, which has not yet been completed.

“If shown safe and effective, anything you can get back in 15 minutes is a huge advance,” L. Kristin Newby, MD, MHS, from Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, told Medscape.

If brought to market, the researchers say that the new assay could dramatically alter patient flow through the ED, as well as resource allocation.

The research team is continuing to recruit patients and expects to be able to report on a sample of 3,000 patients in early 2019, Medscape Today reported. Eventually, the researchers are planning a much larger, 30,000-patient study that will assess the effect of the assay on patient care and outcomes, as well as the costs and ED flow.  

Editor’s note: To read the full coverage of this story from Medscape Today, click here. To read the preliminary findings of the study in JAMA, click here.