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.
Abstract

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