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Do the results of point-of-care cardiac troponin I measurements performed in a moving ambulance mimic those performed in the hospital? To find out, investigators used i-STAT 1 analyzers to simultaneously test blood samples from 42 patients with chest pain in a moving ambulance and in the ED.
After exclusion of three samples because of an “interfering substance” or cartridge error, 13 were positive. Only one patient had ST-segment elevation. No significant differences were noted between results obtained in the ambulance and those obtained in the hospital. The authors note that prehospital point-of-care testing for troponin I takes 10 minutes and might therefore be most useful in systems with longer transport times.