POC-ET
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Point of Care Evaluation of high-sensitivity cardiac Troponin
IRAS ID
282509
Contact name
Nicholas Mills
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
In this research we wish to test new technologies that could allow us to either detect or rule out heart attacks earlier. Currently, when a patient attends the Emergency Department with symptoms that could be due to a heart attack, they have a blood test taken from a vein in the arm. This is sent to a laboratory to measure the level of a protein called troponin that is released from the heart when it is damaged. Doctors and nurses use the level of troponin measured in that blood sample, along with a tracing of the heart and an assessment of symptoms, to decide whether the patient is having a heart attack. On average, it takes about 2 hours from the patient arriving at hospital to the doctor or nurse receiving the blood test result so they can make this diagnosis.
A device has been designed that can measure troponin by using a drop of blood from a finger prick with the result available in around 10 minutes. This means that if a patient is having a heart attack we can diagnose it earlier and give them treatment. Previous studies have also showed that the majority of patients who attend hospital with chest pain ultimately do not have a heart attack. With this new device we hope to be able to reassure these patients that their symptoms are not due to a heart attack, so we can concentrate on finding out what else could be causing their chest pain, and ultimately discharge them earlier.
We aim to find the best way to use this new device and look at the impact this device has on the length of time from sample to diagnosis and time spent in hospital.
REC name
HSC REC B
REC reference
21/NI/0200
Date of REC Opinion
14 Dec 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion