Reduced time to treatment. With the i-STAT troponin I test, time to treatment can be reduced for better outcomes. Timing is even critical when conducting the second troponin test. Time to treat can be confidently reduced.

Treatments that are recommended during acute coronary syndromes include: anti-platelet, anti-coagulation therapies, and anti-thrombolytic agents or angioplasty.

Creates efficiencies in the ED. With cTnI results delivered at the bedside in just 10 minutes, patients can be appropriately discharged home or moved quickly into the hospital system where they can receive appropriate monitoring and care and the ED is ready to receive the next patient in crisis.

The i-STAT troponin I test is also expected to save hospitals money by rapidly identifying the 10 to 15 percent of patients who are admitted inappropriately with chest pain but aren’t suffering a heart attack and often undergo unnecessary testing and hospitalization.

Relieves patient anxiety. To a chest pain patient, minutes can seem like hours. Patients who test negative for troponin I and are ruled out for MI can be discharged to their homes reassured. And, because cTnI is a useful tool in diagnosis and risk stratification, the number of patients who return to the ED after discharge can be significantly reduced.

Insert the cartridge into the handheld analyzer for lab accurate results in 10 minutes.

From the Academy of Emergency Medicine, February, 2001, 91% of Emergency Department directors reported overcrowding as a problem, 39% indicating it to be a daily problem. In some cases, poor outcomes are directly attributed to overcrowding. And while there are numerous factors that contribute to the problem, delays in laboratory results ranked high as a cause for overcrowding.(10)

As many as 1.1 million patients have myocardial infarctions annually in the United States, about half of whom come to the emergency department. The rate of discharge of such patients represents at least 11,000 missed diagnoses of MI per year.(11)

When Time to Treat is Critical, i-STAT® Has the Answers.

Troponin Helps Diagnose MI and Identify Future Cardiac Risks.
The American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry and the European Society of Cardiology agree that the cardiac troponins are currently the preferred marker for definitive myocardial damage because they have nearly absolute myocardial tissue specificity, as well as high sensitivity, thereby reflecting even microscopic zones of myocardial necrosis.(5) Troponin I is also an invaluable tool in risk stratification of patients with acute coronary syndrome, helping physicians to make clear therapeutic decisions.

Troponin I is also an invaluable tool in risk stratification of patients with acute coronary syndrome, helping physicians to make clear therapeutic decisions.

Chest pain patients are viewed as one of the most critical of any patient type arriving in the Emergency Department. Among those presenting with chest pain, 30% will be admitted to the hospital and 70% will be discharged. Of those discharged, an alarming 2.5% will have an MI within 24 hours of returning home.

When knowing is everything.
 

Troponin | Levels to Predict the Risk of Mortality in Acute Coronary Syndrome

Current ACC/ESC guidelines recommend an ED protocol that yields an examination and ECG within 10 minutes and cardiac markers within 30 minutes.(4) When triaging chest pain patients, information is critical. Understanding patient status quickly reduces time to treatment and increases the opportunity for better outcomes. In fact, the ACC/ESC guidelines recommend that cardiac marker results be available within 30 minutes. According to an American Heart Association study in 2002, hospitals that did follow the 30 minute treatment guidelines improved heart attack patients’ survival by one-third.

In all chest pain patients, but especially those who present a diagnostic challenge, the troponins are the preferred biomarkers for the determination of myocardial necrosis. Even in the low-range of troponin I concentration (0.1 to 0.4 ng/mL), an indication of the presence of cTnI is important in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction and risk stratification of those having a coronary event.

When it’s a name that delivers.
For more than 10 years, i-STAT has been a leader in the delivery of rapid, accurate blood analysis results at the patient bedside. Our new cTnI cartridge is built on the
same biosensor technology that pathologists and clinicians have come to count on.

In addition to troponin, the i-STAT system can perform a comprehensive list of tests, including blood gases and electrolytes, chemistries, and coagulation.
 

The handheld i-STAT analyzer is truly portable, weighing just over a pound.   The troponin I test is performed on whole heparinized blood, eliminating the need for centrifugation.   The i-STAT test cartridge is self-contained—just plug in the cartridge and it runs, reducing staff time for training, operation and maintenance.

The cTnI runs on a uniform, standard platform, making it easy to add tests for blood gases and electrolytes.   The system is ready in seconds - no warm-up time required.   The i-STAT system is a leader in interfacing with the hospital’s LIS/HIS system—all results can be transferred into the LIS/HIS easily and quickly.

References