SAN DIEGO – The rule-in cutoff level for high-sensitivity cardiac troponin measures in the diagnosis of acute MI have been established by the European Society of Cardiology, but the value might not be applicable to a U.S. population.
In a video interview at the annual scientific assembly of the American College of Emergency Physicians, Richard M. Nowak, MD, of the department of emergency medicine at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, explains why the rule-in cutoff is not likely to apply to American patients and may be associated with a higher risk of false positives.
Since high-sensitivity troponin measures will soon be coming to every ED, each institution may have to arrive at their own rule-in cutoff value in order to diagnose acute MI with an acceptable number of false positives, he said. Dr. Nowak explains how to begin addressing that process.