Abstract
Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) values, measured by the ADVIA TnI-Ultra method in a multi-ethnic group and to determine the imprecision of the assay.
Method: The study population comprised 234 men and 208 women and the age range was 18–73 years. Recruitment was aimed at enrolling different races and comprised 186 Malays, 136 Chinese and 120 Indians. We evaluated the analytical performance the ultra sensitive cardiac troponin I (cTnI) assay.
Results: The mean values for cTnI for male and female were 0.011 μg/L and 0.010 μg/L respectively. No significant difference was noted between male and female populations (p > 0.05). The 99th percentile for ADVIA TnI-Ultra was 0.061 μg/L. The mean values of cTn in Malay, Chinese and Indian groups were 0.011, 0.011 and 0.011 μg/L, respectively. There was no significant difference between the different ethnic populations (p > 0.05). The assay imprecision was less than 10% at concentrations higher than 0.036 μg/L.
Conclusion: ADVIA TnI-Ultra assay showed no difference in the troponin values among different ethnic groups and between males and females. Hence a single cut-off value based on the 99th percentile can be used.