OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine patterns of troponin testing in the emergency department of a large tertiary care hospital in Oman and to determine its effect on patient management, including length of hospital stay (LOS). METHODS: This retrospective study analysed the medical records of all adult patients undergoing troponin testing in the emergency department of the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, during the month of July 2015. Patients who presented with an ST-elevation myocardial infarction were excluded. RESULTS: A total of 4,845 patients attended the emergency department during the study period; of these, troponin tests were ordered for 588 patients. The majority of the patients had negative troponin test results (81.3%). Chest pain, palpitations and breathlessness were the most common presenting complaints for those with positive troponin results. However, 41.8% of patients did not have any cardiac symptoms. Individuals with positive troponin tests had a significantly longer LOS compared to those with negative tests (mean: three versus one day; P = 0.001). In total, only 28.2% of those with positive troponin test results had final diagnoses associated with a cardiac condition, such as heart failure, an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), atrial fibrillation or other types of arrhythmia. CONCLUSION: A positive troponin test was associated with increased LOS; however, only a small proportion of these patients had a final diagnosis associated with a cardiac condition. Guidelines should be provided to ensure that troponin testing is performed only in cases where an ACS is suspected.
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine patterns of troponin testing in the emergency department of a large tertiary care hospital in Oman and to determine its effect on patient management, including length of hospital stay (LOS). METHODS: This retrospective study analysed the medical records of all adult patients undergoing troponin testing in the emergency department of the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, during the month of July 2015. Patients who presented with an ST-elevation myocardial infarction were excluded. RESULTS: A total of 4,845 patients attended the emergency department during the study period; of these, troponin tests were ordered for 588 patients. The majority of the patients had negative troponin test results (81.3%). Chest pain, palpitations and breathlessness were the most common presenting complaints for those with positive troponin results. However, 41.8% of patients did not have any cardiac symptoms. Individuals with positive troponin tests had a significantly longer LOS compared to those with negative tests (mean: three versus one day; P = 0.001). In total, only 28.2% of those with positive troponin test results had final diagnoses associated with a cardiac condition, such as heart failure, an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), atrial fibrillation or other types of arrhythmia. CONCLUSION: A positive troponin test was associated with increased LOS; however, only a small proportion of these patients had a final diagnosis associated with a cardiac condition. Guidelines should be provided to ensure that troponin testing is performed only in cases where an ACS is suspected.
Authors: Marco Roffi; Carlo Patrono; Jean-Philippe Collet; Christian Mueller; Marco Valgimigli; Felicita Andreotti; Jeroen J Bax; Michael A Borger; Carlos Brotons; Derek P Chew; Baris Gencer; Gerd Hasenfuss; Keld Kjeldsen; Patrizio Lancellotti; Ulf Landmesser; Julinda Mehilli; Debabrata Mukherjee; Robert F Storey; Stephan Windecker Journal: Rev Esp Cardiol (Engl Ed) Date: 2015-12
Authors: Olaia Rodriguez Fraga; Yader Sandoval; Sara A Love; Zeke J McKinney; MaryAnn M Murakami; Stephen W Smith; Fred S Apple Journal: Clin Chem Date: 2014-11-11 Impact factor: 8.327
Authors: Kristian Thygesen; Joseph S Alpert; Allan S Jaffe; Maarten L Simoons; Bernard R Chaitman; Harvey D White; Kristian Thygesen; Joseph S Alpert; Harvey D White; Allan S Jaffe; Hugo A Katus; Fred S Apple; Bertil Lindahl; David A Morrow; Bernard R Chaitman; Peter M Clemmensen; Per Johanson; Hanoch Hod; Richard Underwood; Jeroen J Bax; Jeroen J Bonow; Fausto Pinto; Raymond J Gibbons; Keith A Fox; Dan Atar; L Kristin Newby; Marcello Galvani; Christian W Hamm; Barry F Uretsky; Ph Gabriel Steg; William Wijns; Jean-Pierre Bassand; Phillippe Menasche; Jan Ravkilde; E Magnus Ohman; Elliott M Antman; Lars C Wallentin; Paul W Armstrong; Maarten L Simoons; James L Januzzi; Markku S Nieminen; Mihai Gheorghiade; Gerasimos Filippatos; Russell V Luepker; Stephen P Fortmann; Wayne D Rosamond; Dan Levy; David Wood; Sidney C Smith; Dayi Hu; Jose-Luis Lopez-Sendon; Rose Marie Robertson; Douglas Weaver; Michal Tendera; Alfred A Bove; Alexander N Parkhomenko; Elena J Vasilieva; Shanti Mendis; Jeroen J Bax; Helmut Baumgartner; Claudio Ceconi; Veronica Dean; Christi Deaton; Robert Fagard; Christian Funck-Brentano; David Hasdai; Arno Hoes; Paulus Kirchhof; Juhani Knuuti; Philippe Kolh; Theresa McDonagh; Cyril Moulin; Bogdan A Popescu; Zeljko Reiner; Udo Sechtem; Per Anton Sirnes; Michal Tendera; Adam Torbicki; Alec Vahanian; Stephan Windecker; Joao Morais; Carlos Aguiar; Wael Almahmeed; David O Arnar; Fabio Barili; Kenneth D Bloch; Ann F Bolger; Hans Erik Botker; Biykem Bozkurt; Raffaele Bugiardini; Christopher Cannon; James de Lemos; Franz R Eberli; Edgardo Escobar; Mark Hlatky; Stefan James; Karl B Kern; David J Moliterno; Christian Mueller; Aleksandar N Neskovic; Burkert Mathias Pieske; Steven P Schulman; Robert F Storey; Kathryn A Taubert; Pascal Vranckx; Daniel R Wagner Journal: J Am Coll Cardiol Date: 2012-09-05 Impact factor: 24.094
Authors: L Kristin Newby; Robert L Jesse; Joseph D Babb; Robert H Christenson; Thomas M De Fer; George A Diamond; Francis M Fesmire; Stephen A Geraci; Bernard J Gersh; Greg C Larsen; Sanjay Kaul; Charles R McKay; George J Philippides; William S Weintraub Journal: J Am Coll Cardiol Date: 2012-11-12 Impact factor: 24.094
Authors: Yader Sandoval; Stephen W Smith; Karen M Schulz; MaryAnn M Murakami; Sara A Love; Jennifer Nicholson; Fred S Apple Journal: Clin Chem Date: 2015-02-11 Impact factor: 8.327