ABSTRACT
The time factor is important in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction and therefore methods that help in diagnosis in a short time are preferable. This study was performed to compare the methods of detecting troponins and myoglobin in the blood, one, a bedside method and the other, a laboratory-based method. Forty-nine patients admitted to Rashid Hospital Coronary Care Unit, were studied. Thirty-five were confirmed to have acute myocardial infarction by the standard criteria of history, ST elevation in the ECG and rise of C.K.M.B. enzyme. The remaining l4 patients who were regarded as controls did not have acute myocardial infarction or acute coronary syndromes. Blood was taken from these patients up to 24 hours from the onset of chest pain and sent for analysis of myoglobin and troponin. From each patient, half of the blood specimens were analysed using CARDIAC reader [Boehringer Manheim [B.M.]] and the other half using AxSYM machine [Abbott]. In patients with acute myocardial infarction, both methods gave comparable and positive results. In the control group, both methods gave negative results. We conclude that both CARDIA C reader and AxSYM methods of assaying myoglobin and troponin are accurate and comparable in predicting patients with acute myocardial infarction