Epidemiology of myocardial injury in trauma patients: proposed phenotypes for future research

Troponin elevation occurs in 7% of all trauma admissions and it identifies the seriously injured high-risk cohort. The timing of the maximum Troponin concentration seems to describe three distinct phenotypes. "Hyperacute" with most favourable outcomes, "Subacute" with severe trauma and tissue injury requiring major resource utilisation and associated with the highest mortality rate, and "Late" characterised by ECG and ECHO changes suggesting primary ischaemic cardiac pathology.