Do we really need high-sensitive troponin immunoassays in the emergency department? Definitely, yes!

Cardiac troponins have changed our understanding of myocardial infarction profoundly during the past 20 years. In fact release of cardiac troponin into the blood has become part of the definition of myocardial infarction. Diagnostics and treatment have taken these new insights into account. The novel high-sensitive assays for cardiac troponins that are available recently clearly constitute a significant further improvement of analytical performance. In addition, the still incomplete clinical data available indicate that these assays will also further improve patient care in many ways. In summary, cardiac troponins are a great example of the potential impact of analytical performance of diagnostic tests on patient care and patient outcome.