Aloe R, Lippi G, Di Pietro M, Bonfanti L, Dipalo M, Comelli I, Avanzini P, Sanchis-Gomar F, Cervellin G. Improved efficiency and cost reduction in the emergency department by replacing contemporary sensitive with high-sensitivity cardiac troponin immunoassay.
ACTA BIO-MEDICA : ATENEI PARMENSIS 2019;
90:614-620. [PMID:
31910198 PMCID:
PMC7233763 DOI:
10.23750/abm.v90i4.8769]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2019] [Accepted: 08/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Although unquestionable evidence has been provided that high-sensitive (HS) cardiac troponin (cTn) immunoassay outperform the former contemporary-sensitive techniques, some clinicians are still hesitant to implement HS methods in routine clinical practice. This study was hence planned to evaluate the impact of replacing a contemporary-sensitive with HS cTnI immunoassay on hospital and laboratory workload.
METHODS
Information on the total number of cTnI tests ordered, total number of blood samples collected, total number of CK-MB tests ordered, number of patients with the first HS-cTnI value below the limit of detection (LoD) and cumulative HS-cTnI values was extracted from the local hospital information system for the semesters before and after the HS method was introduced.
RESULTS
Although the total emergency department (ED) visits modestly increased after introducing HS-cTnI, the number of total cTnI tests declined by over 10%. A substantial reduction of single-sample test requests was noted, accompanied by a considerable decline of 3- and 4-sample collections (i.e., -61% and -73%, respectively). A high percentage of patients (27.5%) displayed HS-cTnI values
CONCLUSION
The results of this study show substantial organizational and economic benefits by replacing contemporary-sensitive with HS cTnI immunoassays. (www.actabiomedica.it).
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