Troponin T: role in altering patient management and enabling earlier discharge from a district general hospital

Abstract

The use of troponin T to facilitate early patient discharge was investigated in a prospective study in a district general hospital. Troponin T was measured in 91 patients admitted over a period of 6 months with chest pain but without evidence of myocardial infarction. The main outcome measure was length of hospital stay. A negative troponin T was found in 70 patients. Fifty of these were discharged within 24 h of the troponin result being available and they had a significantly shorter hospital stay than a case control group and a historical control group from the previous 6 months. Troponin T measurement has a role in altering patient management by enabling early discharge, resulting in significant cost savings and increasing bed availability.

The new definition of myocardial infarction and the impact of troponin determination on clinical practice

“…There are already practical examples of situations where the use of troponin has significantly reduced the overall costs of treating the patients. In a study performed in U.K., when compared with the traditional enzymatic approach, troponin was markedly effective in altering patient management by enabling early discharge of patients, resulting in significant cost savings and increasing bed availability [28]. The same striking results were also obtained in other countries in different clinical contexts [29].…”

Laboratory medicine in the new healthcare environment

“…Quoting Sharkey, "Perhaps no other laboratory test has the authority to alter a patient's clinical course and cost of care so broadly" [47]. Just after its availability, when compared to the traditional diagnostic enzymatic approach, the cTn measurement was shown to impact patient management by enabling early discharge from hospital and resulting in significant cost savings, both in Europe and United States healthcare systems [48,49]. The introduction of cTn strongly impacted on the diagnostic classification of patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome.…”