Effects of an educational intervention for rational cardiac enzyme requisitions in critically ill patients: a pre–post intervention study

BACKGROUNDAlthough cardiac troponin is recommended as the biomarker of choice to evaluate myocardial injury, inappropriate low-value ordering practice is frequent, particularly routine ordering of creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB) tests where troponin is available. OBJECTIVEThe aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention for rational request of cardiac biomarkers in the intensive care unit. METHODWe conducted a quasi-experimental, pre-post implementation study of an educational program (expository-dialogue presentation and disclosure of a decision algorithm) for rational cardiac biomarker testing in adult critically ill patients. The study was divided into two 12-month periods: pre-intervention (September 2017-August 2018) and post-intervention (October 2018-September 2019). An interrupted time series with a segmented regression model was applied to analyze variation over time in CK-MB and troponin testing. RESULTSWe included 4429 patients: 2181 patients in the pre-intervention period and 2248 patients in the post-intervention period. A reduction in the concomitance of CK-MB and troponin testing was observed (concomitance in 1415 tests in the pre-intervention period vs 348 tests in the post-intervention period). The interrupted time series analysis demonstrated a noticeable immediate reduction in the concomitance of CK-MB with troponin after the intervention (-0.13 tests per patient, P = 0.0016) but not in the secular trend for the concomitance. The proportion of patients with the acute coronary syndrome as a discharge diagnosis was not different between the pre- and post-intervention period. CONCLUSIONOur pre-post interventional study demonstrated a significant decrease in the concomitance of CK-MB and troponin tests. A rational high-value ordering practice of cardiac biomarkers is possible in critically ill patients and might be suitable for educational interventions.