National academy of clinical biochemistry and IFCC committee for standardization of markers of cardiac damage laboratory medicine practice guidelines : Analytical issues for biochemical markers of acute coronary syndromes

In 1999, the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry (NACB)6 published the first standards of laboratory practice addressing analytical and clinical recommendations for use of cardiac markers in coronary artery diseases (1). The objectives were to recommend the appropriate implementation and utilization of cardiac biomarkers, specifically for cardiac troponin (cTn), which had just gained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance as a cardiac biomarker to aid in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry Laboratory Medicine Practice Guidelines Committee for Utilization of Biomarkers in Acute Coronary Syndromes and Heart Failure reports all reported relationships within the 2 years previous to this publication that may be relevant to this guidelines document.