LO17: Major adverse cardiac events in patients ruled-out by a validated high-sensitivity troponin algorithm for acute myocardial infarction

Abstract

Introduction: Chest pain and symptoms of acute coronary syndrome are a leading cause of emergency department (ED) visits in Canada. Validated 2-hour high-sensitivity troponin algorithms can rapidly and accurately rule-in or rule-out myocardial infarction (MI) in most patients. The objective of this study was to quantify the incidence and timing of major adverse cardiac events (MACE: MI, death, or urgent revascularization) in the 30-days following the index ED encounter among patients who had MI ruled out using a 2-hour high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-cTnT) algorithm. We also sought to identify patient characteristics associated with very low risk of MACE. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data prospectively collected from adult patients presenting with a primary complaint of chest pain or symptoms of ACS. This analysis focused on patients who had an MI ruled out using a validated 2-hour serial hs-cTnT diagnostic algorithm. Incidence of 30-day MACE was quantified. Sex-specific Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed to describe timing of MACE events after MI rule-out. Demographic and clinical variables of patients who did or did not have MACE were compared using simple bivariable analyses. Results: This analysis included 550 patients with serial 2h hs-cTnT testing. Of these, MI was ruled out in 344 (62.5% of patients), ruled in 67 (12.2%), and 139 (25.3%) had nondiagnostic hs-cTnT results. Among the 344 patients who had MI ruled out, 11 (3.2%) experienced a MACE in the 30 days following their index ED encounter. These included 10 (2.9%) unplanned revascularizations and 1 (0.3%) fatal MI. MACE occurred at a median of 5 days (range: 0-23 days) after the index ED encounter. Of the 11 patients experiencing MACE, 9 (81.8%) had a normal ECG at their index ED encounter. None of the 93 (27.0%) ruled-out patients under the age of 50 experienced a MACE in the follow-up period. Patients experiencing MACE were more likely to have a history of coronary disease and multiple vascular risk factors compared to those not experiencing MACE. Conclusion: The validated 2h hs-cTnT AMI algorithm ruled-out MI in a large proportion of patients. The 30-day MACE incidence after MI rule-out was 3%. Most MACE events were unplanned revascularizations. We determined that age < 50 was associated with event-free survival and may be of value in identifying patients who do not need additional cardiac testing after MI has been ruled out using high-sensitivity troponin testing.