The Impact of Routine Cardiology Consultation on Critically Ill Patients with Elevated Troponin Levels

Cardiac troponin (cTn) is used to diagnose acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, cTn can also be elevated in critically ill patients secondary to demand ischaemia or myocardial injury. In a meta-analysis of 20 different studies involving critically ill patients, cTn was found to be elevated in 43% of patients.1 Prior studies have evaluated the significance of cTn as a prognostic factor and mortality predictor in different clinical entities in intensive care units (ICU).2,3 However, the data on the impact of cardiology consultation on the outcomes in this specific context of critical care patients are limited. While prior studies have addressed such an impact on the outcomes among different groups of surgical patients,4,5 to the authors’ knowledge, no prior studies have examined that impact on critically ill patients with elevated cTn. This study aimed to investigate the impact of cardiology consultation on critically ill patients in the medical ICU with elevated cTn and no signs of ACS.