Implications of low level high-sensitivity troponin elevations in women presenting to the emergency department with chest pain.

In early 2020 Monash Health introduced a high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) assay for assessment of suspected myocardial infarction (MI). One associated change was that sex-specific normal reference ranges were introduced: 0-10 ng/L for females and 0-20 ng/L for males. A theoretical concern with such sex-specific reference limits is that identification of arguable ‘trivial’ abnormal elevations in females might lead to unnecessary admissions for cardiac investigations. The veracity of these concerns will be examined. The student will be supervised by 2 experienced clinician researchers (one at each Monash ED).