Cardiac Marker POC Tests Now Widely Used in Hospitals

The 2008 world market for POC cardiac enzymes and tests is estimated at US$490 million, and growing at 12% a year for the past three years, according to healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information (New York, NY, USA). Cardiac markers are specific enzymes or proteins that tend to be concentrated when a cardiac event is likely to occur. Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), CK-MB (creatine kinase, muscle and brain [subunits]), myoglobin, and troponin I/T are the most commonly tested markers. Testing for these markers can effectively indicate when intervention is or is not necessary. Lab-based tests can take up to 24 hours, which has driven demand for the point-of-care products that can deliver "stat” results.

"After many years of tests to prove effectiveness, there has been the stark realization that cardiac markers are useful to rule out or rule in the variety of cardiovascular conditions that are present in an ER [emergency room],” said Shara Rosen, the report's author.

The leaders in the cardiac enzyme POC market are Inverness's (Waltham, MA, USA) Triage, Siemens Healthcare's (Erlangen, Germany) Stratus, and Roche's (Nutley, NJ, USA) POC systems (Accutrend Plus, Roche Cardiac 200, Cobas h232). Of all POC testing that occurs in hospitals, cardiac marker tests are the fastest growing segment. Also at least another 20 companies market test strips for all or one of the marker panels. These companies' rapid tests help physicians triage cardiac patients more quickly.

Point-of-care or decentralized testing has long been the standard of care for glucose, but in other areas, results have been mixed. Products have been utilized, but never in the numbers that were predicted when the technologies were developed. The growth of cardiac markers is one part of a significant trend towards the use of POC tests, which now represent 15 percent of all tests conducted in hospitals.

POC testing has expanded because of studies that demonstrate the clinical effectiveness of these tests and technologic advancements that have increased their accuracy. Kalorama's research looked at the current state of glucose testing, as well as other emerging POC test categories, including the fast growing infectious disease and cholesterol test segments.

Kalorama Information supplies independent market research in the life sciences, as well as a full range of custom research services.

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