Clinical performance of a new point-of-care cardiac troponin I test.

Background: We evaluated the clinical performance of the Minicare cardiac troponin-I (cTnI), a new point-of-care (POC) cTnI test for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a prospective, multicentre study (ISRCTN77371338).

Methods: Of 474 patients (≥18 years) admitted to an emergency department (ED) or chest pain unit (CPU) with symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome (ACS; ≤12 h from symptom onset), 465 were eligible. Minicare cTnI was tested immediately, 3 h and 6 h after presentation.

Equal clinical performance of a novel point-of-care cardiac troponin I (cTnI) assay with a commonly used high-sensitivity cTnI assay.

Background: Efficient rule-out of acute myocardial infarction (MI) facilitates early disposition of chest pain patients in emergency departments (ED). Point-of-care (POC) cardiac troponin (cTn) may improve patient throughput. We compared the diagnostic accuracy of a novel cTnI test (Minicare cTnI, Philips), with current POC cTnI (I-Stat, Abbott) and high-sensitivity central laboratory cTnI (hs-cTnI; Architect, Abbott) assays.

Analytical evaluation of a new point of care system for measuring cardiac Troponin I.

Objectives: Point-of-care cardiac troponin testing with adequate analytical performances has the potential to improve chest pain patients flow in the emergency department. We present the analytical evaluation of the newly developed Philips Minicare cTnI point-of-care immunoassay.

Design & Methods: Li-heparin whole blood and plasma were used to perform analytical studies.

[Sepsis in Emergency Medicine].

Sepsis is defined as "life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host-response to infection". Presence of organ dysfunction is associated with a mortality of 10% and higher in hospitalized sepsis patients.Introduction of standards in diagnosis and treatment of sepsis in intensive care units has not considerably reduced sepsis mortality.

Diagnostic and prognostic value of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T in patients with syncope.

Objective: We examined the diagnostic and predictive value of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (cTnThs) in patients with syncope.

Methods: We performed an analysis of consecutive patients with syncope presenting to the emergency department. The primary end point was the accuracy to diagnose a cardiac syncope.

The prevalence and prognostic significance of near syncope and syncope: a prospective study of 395 cases in an emergency department (the SPEED study).

Background: The prognostic significance of near-syncope has not yet been adequately characterized.

Method: We collected prospective data on a consecutive series of patients seen in an emergency department with syncope (brief loss of consciousness, usually with loss of muscle tone) or near-syncope (a feeling that syncope is about to occur, but without actual loss of consciousness or muscle tone). We report on the prevalence, etiology, and prognosis of such events (the SPEED study).

Severity illness scoring systems for early identification and prediction of in-hospital mortality in patients with suspected sepsis presenting to the emergency department.

The in-hospital mortality of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock (SSSS) is high. In this study we examined the diagnostic and prognostic accuracy of the emergency severity index (ESI), the modified early warning score (MEWS), and the mortality in emergency department (ED) sepsis (MEDS) score. This is a single-centre, prospective and observational study of 151 consecutive patients presenting to the ED of the Nuremberg Hospital with suspected sepsis (age 68.