Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of adoption of a new cardiac chest pain pathway that included hs-cTnI in the emergency department (ED) when evaluating chest pain patients. METHODS: A new pathway incorporating both hs-cTnI testing (Seimens Healthineers Atellica) and risk stratification tools was developed. The impact of the new algorithm was assessed through a retrospective observational review of patients admitted to the ED with chest pain before implementation and after implementation. Before implementation, the conventional Seimens troponin Vista assay was utilized without a defined algorithmic approach. Bivariate analyses were performed comparing the time periods to determine differences in patient discharge dispositions, length of stay, outcomes, and rate of diagnostic cardiac catheterization. RESULTS: The proportion of patients discharged from the ED increased while the proportion of patients placed in observation or admitted as in-patient decreased. Variation amongst providers regarding patient disposition decreased. The stress testing rate of patients placed in observation decreased over baseline. There was no change in 30-day MACE rate, but there was a decrease in 30-day MI rate. CONCLUSIONS: The new standardized hs-cTnI algorithm approach is safe as demonstrated by no change in 30-day MACE and is also more appropriate and efficient for patients presenting to the ED with chest pain compared to the non-standardized approach with cTnI used previously.