Evaluation of the cardiac STATus™ CK-MB/Myoglobin Card Test to diagnose acute myocardial infarctions in the ED

A study was undertaken to evaluate a Card Test called “Spectral Diagnostics Inc Cardiac STATus™ CK-MB/Myoglobin” (Toronto, Canada), which is distributed by Dade International Inc, Miami, FL, for the simultaneous qualitative determination of CK-MB and myoglobin levels in human serum. The Card Test is advertised by the manufacturer as an aid in diagnosing acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the emergency department (ED). Fifty-eight consecutive serum samples were obtained from 25 patients being evaluated for AMI in an ED. Qualitative CK-MB and myoglobin results from the Card Test were compared with quantitative CK-MB and myoglobin results using the ACS-180 instrument (Ciba Corning Diagnostics, Medfield, MA) and Stratus® Ilntellect T (Dade International Inc, Miami, FL), respectively. Qualitative results from the STATus™ CK-MB/Myoglobin Card Test were similar, diagnostically, to quantified results using these automated instruments.