Point-of-care troponin tests to rule out acute myocardial infarction in the prehospital environment: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis
Albaqami, Bader Dinnes, Jacqueline Moore, Theresa Hm Kirby, Kim Carley, Simon D Aloufi, Mohammad Alqurashi, Naif Alghamdi, Abdulrhman Alsuwais, Sara Dawson, Sarah
Albaqami, Bader
Dinnes, Jacqueline
Moore, Theresa Hm
Kirby, Kim
Carley, Simon D
Aloufi, Mohammad
Alqurashi, Naif
Alghamdi, Abdulrhman
Alsuwais, Sara
Dawson, Sarah
Affiliation
University of Manchester; University of Bisha; University of Birmingham; University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust; University of Bristol; University of the West of England; King Saud University; King Abdullah International Medical Research Center
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Publication date
2025-05-02
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Abstract
Background: Chest pain is a major cause of emergency ambulance calls, often linked to acute myocardial infarction (AMI), a critical condition requiring immediate hospitalisation. Current diagnostic methods, such as history taking and ECG, have limitations, especially for non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin (cTn) assays are more diagnostically sensitive, but the downside is that it needs hospital-based testing, which can delay diagnosis and the necessary treatment protocol. Point-of-care cTn testing, on the other hand, is much faster and done nearer to the patient; hence, it may fundamentally change the prehospital care pathway in terms of diagnostic accuracy, clinical utility and related safety.
Objective: To present a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis that will assess the diagnostic accuracy, clinical utility and safety of point of care (POC) troponin tests, with or without clinical decision aids, for ruling out AMI in adults presenting with cardiac chest pain to emergency ambulance services in prehospital settings.
Methods: This protocol follows BMJ guidelines and adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols 2015 reporting standards. It is registered with PROSPERO (ID: CRD42024533117). A comprehensive search strategy will identify relevant studies in MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL, focusing on literature from 2000 onwards. Eligibility criteria include adults with chest pain suspected of AMI, excluding those with ST-elevation myocardial infarction. The primary target is type 1 AMI, with secondary outcomes including major adverse cardiac events at 30 days. Risk of bias assessment will be performed using tools such as Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies version 2, Risk of Bias 2, and Risk of Bias in Non-randomised Studies of Interventions, while the quality of the economic evaluations will be appraised using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) checklist. Data items extracted will include patient demographics, test characteristics and outcomes. Where possible, meta-analyses will be conducted by fitting hierarchical models for diagnostic accuracy and random effects models for clinical and cost-effectiveness estimates. Subgroup analyses are proposed to quantify the effect of variables such as gender, ethnicity and type of troponin assay on the estimated parameters.
Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval is not required. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at international conferences.
Citation
Albaqami B, Dinnes J, Moore TH, Kirby K, Carley SD, Aloufi M, Alqurashi N, Alghamdi A, Alsuwais S, Dawson S, Body R. Point-of-care troponin tests to rule out acute myocardial infarction in the prehospital environment: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open. 2025 May 2;15(5):e094390. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-094390.
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Article