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Catheter Ablation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 26, 2013
Troponin utilization in patients presenting with atrial fibrillation/flutter to the emergency department:
Nazanin Meshkat1, Emily Austin, Rahim Moineddin
1Department of Medicine, Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. nmeshkat@rogers.com.
Insights
Troponin testing is common in emergency departments for patients with atrial fibrillation/flutter. A small percentage of these patients are diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) after positive troponin results.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Emergency Medicine
- Clinical Diagnostics
Background:
- Limited guidelines exist for cardiac marker use in atrial fibrillation/flutter management.
- Current troponin testing patterns and positive result management in emergency departments for atrial fibrillation/flutter are not well-defined.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate troponin utilization patterns in emergency department patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation/flutter.
- To determine the frequency of troponin testing and the management of positive results in this patient population.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective chart review across three healthcare centers.
- Analysis of troponin order rates, positive troponin results, and subsequent acute coronary syndrome (ACS) diagnoses.
Main Results:
- Troponin tests were ordered for 86% of reviewed atrial fibrillation/flutter patients.
- Positive troponin results were observed in 13.7% of tested patients.
- 4.9% of all patients were treated for ACS based on positive troponin results.
Conclusions:
- Troponin testing is frequently employed for emergency department patients presenting with atrial fibrillation/flutter.
- A notable percentage of these patients are diagnosed with ACS, highlighting the clinical significance of troponin testing in this context.
Background:
There are few recommendations about the use of cardiac markers in the investigation and management of atrial fibrillation/flutter. Currently, it is unknown how many patients with atrial fibrillation/flutter undergo troponin testing, and how positive troponin results are managed in the emergency department. We sought to look at the emergency department troponin utilization patterns.
Methods:
We performed a retrospective chart review of patients with atrial fibrillation/flutter presenting to the emergency department at three centers. Outcome measures included the rates of troponins ordered by emergency doctors, number of positive troponins, and those with positive troponins treated as acute coronary syndrome (ACS) by consulting services.
Results:
Four hundred fifty-one charts were reviewed. A total of 388 (86%) of the patients had troponins ordered, 13.7% had positive results, and 4.9% were treated for ACS.
Conclusions:
Troponin tests are ordered in a high percentage of patients with atrial fibrillation/flutter presenting to emergency departments. Five percent of our total patient cohort was diagnosed as having acute coronary syndrome by consulting services.
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