Shortness-of-Breath Diagnostic Panel

A diagnostic panel of five tests designed to help doctors distinguish among three common causes of shortness of breath has received the CE Mark and is now available in Europe.

Called the Triage Profiler, the panel helps doctors decide whether shortness of breath in a patient is due to myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, or disseminated intravascular coagulation. The five tests on the panel are B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), D-Dimer, myoglobin, CK-MB (creatine kinase-isoenzyme MB), and cardiac troponin I and its complexes. The panel is the product of Biosite Incorporated (San Diego, CA, USA).

Testing with the Triage Profiler is performed in a one-step operation from a whole-blood sample using a small, disposable diagnostic device and the Triage MeterPlus portable meter. Quality control checks are performed each time the test is run, significantly reducing the need for separate quality control testing. This diagnostic test can be used in the emergency department, eliminating the need to employ one or more laboratory-based analyzers to run multiple tests.

"Emergency physicians, who are challenged to evaluate symptoms common to a variety of diseases or conditions, need quick, accurate answers,” noted Kim Blickenstaff, president and CEO of Biosite. "With a single diagnostic test that performs simultaneous, multiple biomarker measurements, we are effectively giving them information regarding the major causes of shortness of breath that they can use to determine the cause of breathing problems.”




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