title: Troponin I sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction.
abstract: This article describes the sensitivity and specificity of troponin I when compared to creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and electrocardiography (ECG) for diagnosing acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Two different lower levels for defining positive results with troponin I were evaluated. A retrospective study of 153 patients who presented to the emergency department of a community hospital supplied the pool of patients for this study. Patients included in this study were those for whom a CK-MB was ordered. The majority of these patients were evaluated for chest pain or symptoms suggesting an acute cardiac event. Of the 153 patients studied, CK-MB results were positive in 91 (59%) patients; ECG revealed AMI in 72 (47%) patients. There were 103 (67%) patients who had either positive CK-MB or ECG results. Ninety (59%) patients had a troponin I level greater than 2.0 ng/mL, and 18 (12%) patients had a troponin I level between 0.6 and 2.0 ng/mL. Seven patients whose troponin I level was between 0.6 and 2.0 ng/mL had negative CK-MB and ECG results. Therefore, 11 patients with troponin I between 0.6 and 2.0 ng/mL had AMI. Five patients with positive troponin I results (> 2.0 ng/mL) had negative CK-MB and ECG results. When a troponin I level greater than 0.6 ng/mL was used as a positive value, compared to CK-MB and ECG using either time zero or time 6 hours, the sensitivity was 94% and specificity was 81%. When troponin I greater than 2.0 ng/mL was used to define a positive test, the sensitivity was 85% and specificity was 91% when compared to CK-MB and ECG.
authors.affiliation: Department of Quality Management, St. John Macomb Hospital, Warren, Mich., USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: F N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Bever
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Uddin
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Hockman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003402:Creatine Kinase / Q000097:blood*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D019210:Troponin I / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D019210:Troponin I; D003402:Creatine Kinase