Laboratory Medicine

Test Directory / Troponin T

Troponin T

Brown clotted serum, gel barrier or lithium heparin

Test	Troponin T
Common Abbreviations	TROPT, TPT
Profile	NA
Tube type	Brown clotted serum, gel barrier or lithium heparin
Clinical Indication	Cardiac troponin T is a cardio-specific, highly sensitive marker of myocardial damage. Cardiac troponin T increases rapidly after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The diagnosis of non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) relies heavily on measurement of troponin. Troponin T is an independent prognostic marker which can predict outcomes of patients with acute coronary syndrome. To distinguish between acute and chronic elevations, the Universal definition of AMI requires serial sampling to observe a rise and/ or fall above the 99th percentile. Chronic elevations can be detected in clinically stable patients such as those with ischemic or non-ischemic heart failure, in patients with different forms of cardiomyopathy, renal failure, sepsis and diabetes.
Specimen Type	Blood
Sample type	Serum
Minimum Volume	0.5mL If requesting more than 10 tests please send an additional brown clotted serum sample.
Special Precautions	No special requirements
Stability	24 hours at 2 - 8°C and 24 weeks at -20°C
Turnaround Time	Urgent: 2 hours Inpatient: 24 hours Outpatient/ GP: 24 hours
Laboratory	York and Scarborough
Reference Interval	99th percentile: <14 ng/L (Quoted by the manufacturer) Please refer to Chest Pain Pathway (https://tinyurl.com/ACSFlowchart)
Limitations	Analysis should not be performed on haemolysed, icteric or lipaemic samples. The assay is unaffected by biotin < 1200 ng/mL. No interference was observed from rheumatoid factors up to a concentration of 1200 IU/mL. In vitro tests were performed on 16 commonly used pharmaceuticals. No interference with the assay was found. In addition, special cardiac drugs were tested. No interference was found. In rare cases, high titres of antibodies to analyte specific antibodies, streptavidin or ruthenium can occur. Falsely depressed results are obtained when using samples with haemoglobin concentrations > 0.1 g/dL.
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