High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin On Presentation to Rule Out Myocardial Infarction

Summary

Patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome account for a tenth of all presentations to the Emergency Department and up to 40 per cent of unplanned hospital admissions. The majority of patients do not have a heart attack (myocardial infarction), and may be safely discharged from the Emergency Department.

The investigators propose to evaluate whether the use of the HighSTEACS pathway in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome reduces length of stay and allows more patients to be safely discharged from the Emergency Department. This pathways utilizes high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I testing and will rule out myocardial infarction if troponin concentrations are \<5 ng/L on presentation, with further testing indicated at 3 hours only in those presenting early or with troponin concentrations between 5 ng/L and the 99th centile.

In six secondary and tertiary centres across Scotland, the investigators will introduce the pathway as part of a stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial. Sequential hypothesis testing will evaluate the efficacy and safety of the pathway. The primary efficacy end-point will be length of stay from time of presentation until final hospital discharge and the primary safety end-point will be survival free from type 1 or 4b myocardial infarction or cardiac death from discharge to 30 days. The study population will consist of those patients with cardiac troponin concentrations within the normal reference range (\<99th centile) at presentation.

Conditions

• Acute Coronary Syndrome
• Myocardial Infarction

Interventions

OTHER

Validation Phase

Standard care across all sites during the validation phase will rule out myocardial infarction in those with presentation troponin below the 99th centile with greater than 6 hours of symptoms at the time of blood sampling. In those with less than 6 hours of symptoms, a second test will be measured 6- 12 hours after presentation.

OTHER

Randomization Phase

Standard care or HighSTEACS pathway.

OTHER

Implementation Phase

Implementation of the HighSTEACS pathway to rule out myocardial infarction in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome. Myocardial infarction will be ruled out if presentation cardiac troponin concentrations are \<5 ng/L in those with at least 2 hours of symptoms at the time of blood sampling. In patients with less than two hours of symptoms, or where cardiac troponin concentrations are between 5ng/L and the 99th centile, repeat testing will be recommended at 3 hours. Myocardial infarction will be ruled out at 3 hours if cardiac troponin concentrations are unchanged (\<3 ng/L change) and remain ≤99th centile on retesting. Those remaining ≤99th centile on retesting but demonstrating a significant change will require admission for further testing at 6-12 hours.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• NHS Lothian

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Edinburgh

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Nicholas L Mills, MD, PhD · University of Edinburgh

• Ian Ford, PhD · University of Glasgow

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Masking

SINGLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-11-30

Primary Completion

2017-01-02

Completion

2021-12-02