Lyngseidet

Acute chest pain is a common medical emergency faced in primary emergency care settings. Diagnosing acute myocardial infarction (MI) before hospital admission is challenging due to the lack of highly sensitive diagnostic tools. While clinical signs, risk assessments, and normal ECGs can rule out MI, chest pain often leads to many hospital referrals even though it is frequently not caused by heart problems. This research will evaluate a new point-of-care (POC) whole-blood assay to improve diagnosis and management of patients with acute chest pain in emergency primary care in Norway. The study will assess the use of the QuidelOrtho TriageTrue high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) whole-blood assay at six emergency primary care clinics. This POC test allows rapid troponin measurement outside hospital laboratories, potentially improving triage and reducing unnecessary hospital referrals. The study plans to enroll 2,500 patients over 1.5 years and will compare the new testing strategy to standard care. Researchers will also examine how this strategy affects healthcare usage and patient outcomes. Participants will be assessed for the total number of acute myocardial infarctions within 30 days and complete questionnaires on quality of life at the start and after 90 days. The study will monitor the prevalence of ongoing chest pain and its impact on quality of life, psychological stress, and anxiety. Overall, the trial aims to improve emergency primary care for chest pain patients by providing better management, reducing hospital referrals, and promoting sustainable healthcare use.