Search

Background Frailty is increasingly present in patients with acute myocardial infarction. The electronic Frailty Index (eFI) is a validated method of identifying vulnerable older patients in the community from routine primary care data. Our aim was to assess the relationship between the eFI and outcomes in older patients hospitalised with acute myocardial infarction. Study design and setting Retrospective cohort study using the DataLoch Heart Disease Registry comprising consecutive patients aged 65 years or over hospitalised with a myocardial infarction between October 2013 and March 2021. Methods Patients were classified as fit, mild, moderate, or severely frail based on their eFI score. Cox-regression analysis was used to determine the association between frailty category and all-cause mortality. Results In 4670 patients (median age 77 years [71–84], 43% female), 1865 (40%) were classified as fit, with 1699 (36%), 798 (17%) and 308 (7%) classified as mild, moderate and severely frail, respectively. In total, 1142 patients died within 12 months of which 248 (13%) and 147 (48%) were classified as fit and severely frail, respectively. After adjustment, any degree of frailty was associated with an increased risk of all-cause death with the risk greatest in the severely frail (reference = fit, adjusted hazard ratio 2.87 [95% confidence intervals 2.24 to 3.66]). Conclusion The eFI identified patients at high risk of death following myocardial infarction. Automatic calculation within administrative data is feasible and could provide a low-cost method of identifying vulnerable older patients on hospital presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Whether a single cardiac troponin measurement can safely rule out myocardial infarction in patients presenting within a few hours of symptom onset is uncertain. The study aim was to assess the performance of troponin in early presenters. Methods and results In patients with possible myocardial infarction, the diagnostic performance of a single measurement of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I at presentation was evaluated and externally validated in those tested ≤3, 4–12, and >12 h from symptom onset. The limit-of-detection (2 ng/L), rule-out (5 ng/L), and sex-specific 99th centile (16 ng/L in women; 34 ng/L in men) thresholds were compared. In 41 103 consecutive patients [60 (17) years, 46% women], 12 595 (31%) presented within 3 h, and 3728 (9%) had myocardial infarction. In those presenting ≤3 h, a threshold of 2 ng/L had greater sensitivity and negative predictive value [99.4% (95% confidence interval 99.2%–99.5%) and 99.7% (99.6%–99.8%)] compared with 5 ng/L [96.5% (96.2%–96.8%) and 99.3% (99.1%–99.4%)]. In those presenting ≥3 h, the sensitivity and negative predictive value were similar for both thresholds. The sensitivity of the 99th centile was low in early and late presenters at 71.4% (70.6%–72.2%) and 92.5% (92.0%–93.0%), respectively. Findings were consistent in an external validation cohort of 7088 patients. Conclusion In early presenters, a single measurement of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I below the limit of detection may facilitate the safe rule out of myocardial infarction. The 99th centile should not be used to rule out myocardial infarction at presentation even in those presenting later following symptom onset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]