High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin Risk Cutoffs for Acute Cardiac Outcomes at Emergency Department Presentation

The optimal high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) cutoffs for determining risk in patients who present with acute coronary syndrome symptoms are unknown. In 1137 emergency department patients we calculated adjusted relative risks for a composite outcome (myocardial infarction, unstable angina, heart failure, ventricular arrhythmia, or cardiovascular death) within 7 days for the presentation of hs-cTnT (Roche) and hs-cTnI (Abbott) assay concentrations on the basis of literature cutoffs. Patients with hs-cTn concentrations ≥ 14 ng/L had an adjusted relative risk of 4.9 for the composite outcome, with different hs-cTnT/hs-cTnI concentration ranges yielding higher risks. A common low-risk cutoff of 14 ng/L may be used for hs-cTn with higher cutoffs identifying high-risk patients.