Sample and Method Comparison With Minicare® Point-of-care Device for Cardiac Troponin I Assay at the Emergency Department.

Point-of-care (POC) troponin testing, defined as laboratory testing near a patient location with rapid availability of results, has attracted much interest in the emergency department setting (ED) and seems feasible. These devices might enable earlier decisions, reduce stay at the ED and improve patient flow. While an elevated troponin in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) confirms diagnosis and initiates adequate treatment, ruling out ACS aids in proper patient dismissal. A next step could be ruling out myocardial infarction by the general practitioner (GP) or fast responder using an on-site POC troponin test. However, drawing venous blood might not be easily available to every GP, especially not during peak hours. The Minicare cTnI is a bedside system which requires capillary blood, venous whole blood or plasma. The results of the troponin will be given within 10 minutes. It is a very sensitive troponin test, the most clinically sensitive available POC for c-Troponin. Currently Minicare prepares for a high sensitive troponin analysis targeting a reliable result within an hour after onset of chest pain. The objective of this study is to determine if high sensitive troponin testing by Minicare (POC HS cTnI) has the same analytical performance as standard high sensitivity troponin I testing in our central hospital laboratory ( CL HS cTnI ARCHITECT immunoassay analyzer, Abbott).