[Troponin test in clinical daily practice - Differences in the quality criteria for the diagnosis of acute myocardial Infarction considering clinical leading symptoms: A cross-sectional study]. / Troponin-Test im Alltag ­ Unterschiede der Gütekriterien in der Diagnose des akuten Myokardinfarkts unter Berücksichtigung klinischer Leitsymptome: eine Querschnittsstudie.

INTRODUCTION: Cardiac troponins are the prefered cardial biomarker in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. Because they are detectable by myocardial cell damage, no matter what pathophysiology, the interpretation of a positive test is difficult. The aim of this study is to assess the quality criteria of the troponin test in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction in everyday life and whether clinical leading symptoms have an influence on it. METHODS: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study, in which all patients who presented themselves in the emergency department of the Klinikum Lippe-Detmold between 01.01.2014 and 31.05.2014, and had a Troponin-I test were included. The diagnosis "acute myocardial infarction" referred to myocardial infarction type I and was made by the cardiologist on-duty. The patients were divided into four subgroups according to the leading symptoms. The quality criteria of the Troponin-test were calculated. RESULTS: 1046 patients were included. In 15 %, acute myocardial infarction was present, of which 97 % had thoracic pain. The sensitivities and the negative predictive values were over 90 %. The specificities ranged between 56 % and 81 %. The positive predictive values were modest and best in case of thoracic pain 58 %. CONCLUSION: The Troponin test had a good negative predictive value for all clinical symptoms. Thus, an acute myocardial infarction could be excluded with high precision. However, the positive predictive value was low. The only direct symptom that achieved acceptable levels was thoracic pain.

Endomyocardial biopsy in patients with cardiomyopathy of unknown origin: does specialized center experience apply to a tertiary care hospital?

BACKGROUND: In patients with cardiomyopathy of unknown origin, endomyocardial biopsy provides the possibility of improved diagnosis and tailored treatment. Specific guidance has been developed based on cardiovascular centre of excellence experience but it is unknown if the benefits also extend into the tertiary care hospital setting. METHODS: Endomyocardial biopsies was performed in patients with cardiomyopathy of unknown origin. The outcomes were mirrored against the current ESC recommendations. RESULTS: A total of 57 patients with cardiomyopathy of unknown origin underwent endomyocardial biopsy with a mean age of 54 years and 28 % being women. In 17 patients (30 %), viruses were detected in the biopsy material, in 6 patients (11 %) cardiac amyloidosis was found of which 3 had also a positive test for viruses. The overall mortality rate was 18 % in the mean follow up period of 30 months, with a rate of 24 % in those with virus detection (mean FU 24 months) and 15 % in those without virus detection (mean FU 31 months. Death rates were 83 % in patients with cardiac amyloidosis (mean FU 10 months). CONCLUSION: We conclude that, limited by uncertainty stemming from the small number of included patients, endomyocardial biopsy may not prove to have a clinical impact on treatment decisions and outcomes in a tertiary care hospital setting. We consider cardiac amyloidosis to be an exception, since the mortality rate with or without concomitant virus load was extremely high.