Decreased patient charges following implementation of point-of-care cardiac troponin monitoring in acute coronary syndrome patients in a community hospital cardiology unit.

Background: The need to rapidly evaluate patients presenting to emergency departments and cardiology services for ruling in and ruling out acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is widely recognized as a clinical challenge. We determined the impact of incorporating point-of-care (POC) cardiac troponin I (cTnI) testing into a cardiology service regarding assay turn around time (TAT), patient length of stay (LOS), financial matrixes and patient outcomes compared to central laboratory cTnI testing.

Methods: Patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were enrolled pre-POC (PreCS, n=271) and post-POC (PostCS, n=274).