MedPath

Multimarker Approach for Acute Dyspnea in Elderly Patients Admitted in the Emergency Department

Completed
Conditions
Acute Dyspnea
Acute Heart Failure
Interventions
Diagnostic Test: READ-MA Multimarker Approach
Registration Number
NCT04240067
Lead Sponsor
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Besancon
Brief Summary

Elderly people constitute the largest proportion of emergency department (ED) patients, representing 12% of all ED admissions. The need for diagnostic tests or therapeutic interventions is much greater in this patient population. Cardiovascular diseases and symptoms represent 12% of the causes for ED admission, and patients suffering from cardiovascular disease are those whose ED visit lasts longest.

The diagnostic approach in the ED in elderly patients admitted for acute dypsnoea is complex, and early identification of acute left-sided heart failure (ALSHF) is vital as it has an impact on prognosis. The clinical signs are difficult to interpret, and are non-specific, particularly at the acute phase and in elderly or obese patients. Indeed, some authors have reported up to 50% of diagnostic errors in elderly patients.

Measure of the blood concentration of a natriuretic peptide allows a quick diagnosis. However, peptides alone suffer from several limitations, particularly in situations that are often encountered in elderly patients, such as sepsis, renal failure, acute coronary syndrome, pulmonary embolism, chronic respiratory failure, atrial fibrillation and high body mass index. Diagnostic performance deteriorates with increasing age, and there is a significant increase in this grey-zone in patients aged ≥75 years. In critical situations in elderly patients, assessment of natriuretic peptides serve mainly to rule out a diagnosis of left heart failure.

Some authors have studied other biomarkers showing their performance in the diagnosis of ALSHF. These are biomarkers involved in remodeling and myocardial fibrosis (ST2, Galectin-3) or involved in myocardial injury (High-sensitivity Troponin-I).

Therefore, a combined "multimarker" approach could improve the diagnostic performance of ALSHF.

READ (NCT02531542) is a diagnostic study including patients over the age of 75 admitted to acute dyspnea in the ED, to demonstrate the superiority of an ultrasound protocol (the READ protocol) on NT-proBNP in the ALSHF diagnosis.

The hypothesis is that the diagnostic accuracy of a multimarker diagnostic approach, namely the READ-MA method, combining NT-proBNP, High-sensitivity Troponin-I, ST2 and Galectin-3 would be superior to that of NT-proBNP assessment for the diagnosis of ALSHF in elderly patients (≥75 years) admitted to the ED.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
238
Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria
  • none

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Acute Heart FailureREAD-MA Multimarker Approach-
No Acute Heart FailureREAD-MA Multimarker Approach-
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
To assess the diagnostic performance of the multimarker approach (combining NT-proBNP, High-sensitivity Troponin-I, ST2 and Galectin-3) for the diagnosis of ALSHF in patients aged ≥75 years admitted to the ED for acute dyspnea1 day

1. The presence or absence of ALSHF (gold standard used in the READ study) : diagnosis by 2 experts (cardiologist and emergency physician) based on data collected in the ED and during hospitalization, biological assays (except NT-proBNP) and echocardiography performed by a cardiologist.

2. The positivity of the evaluated test (multi-marker approach) :

* For NT-proBNP, the threshold for positivity is higher than 1800 pg/mL. There is no consensus for High-Sensitivity Troponin-I, ST2 and Galectin-3. Firstly, the optimal threshold of each of these 3 biomarkers will be assessed by ROC curve, then the best combination between these 4 biomarkers will be tested to obtain an optimal discrimination (sensitivity, specificity positive and negative predictive values), positive and negative likelihood ratios) using various methods.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
To demonstrate the superiority of the multimarker approach (NT-proBNP, High-sensitivity Troponin-I, ST2 and Galectin-3) over NT-proBNP alone for the diagnosis of ALSHF in patients aged ≥75 years admitted to the ED for acute dyspnea1 day

To demonstrate the superiority of this combined multi-marker approach combining NT-proBNP, Troponin-I ultrasensitive, ST-2 and Galectin-3 on NT-proBNP alone in the diagnosis of ALSHF in subjects over 75 years admitted to emergencies for acute dyspnea, will be evaluated :

* The presence or absence of acute left heart failure (gold standard selected in the context of the READ study) will be determined using the previously defined criteria

* The evaluated test will be the best multimarker approach previously determined, classified as positive or negative using the previously defined criteria

* The comparative test (NT-proBNP alone) will be classified positive for a threshold higher than 1800 pg/mL

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Besançon

🇫🇷

Besançon, Franche-Comté, France

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath