Prognostic value of the new high sensitive cardiac troponin T assay (hs-cTnT) after coronary artery bypass grafting

Abstract

Background The aim of the study was to assess the value of post-operative cardiac troponin T-levels, measured with a new highly sensitive assay (hs-cTnT), as a suitable parameter to predict patients’ outcome after cardiac surgery. With the introduction of the new hs-cTnT assay the correlation between measured levels and the post-operative patient’s outcome remains to be evaluated.

Methods Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (n = 213) were included. Perioperative measurements of hs-cTnT and CK-MB were correlated to parameters of clinical outcome and further explored. Patients with an uneventful course were compared with those with post-operative complications, including need of repeat revascularization (RR) or death (RR/death), cardiogenic shock (CS) or death (CS/death) and a combination of all (RR/CS/death).

Results Significant results were observed in patients after isolated CABG, where CS/death and RR/CS/death patients had higher post-operative hs-cTnT levels (P < 0.01). Moreover, multivariate analysis of the CABG-group revealed that acute renal failure (OR =14.7, 95% CI =2.7-79.1, P < 0.001), early post-operative hs-cTnT levels higher than the upper quintile (> 1,476.8 pg/ml) (OR =8.1, 95% CI =3.0-22.2, P < 0.001) and unstable angina pectoris (OR =2.4, 95% CI =1.1-5.7, P < 0.05) were the most powerful independent predictors of post-operative complications. Upon discriminant analysis the application of hs-cTnT almost doubled the sensitivity of the outcome prediction.

Conclusions The new hs-cTnT assay is a useful diagnostic tool that may significantly enhance the prediction of adverse events after CABG. In our study a hs-cTnT-value >1,476.8 pg/ml proved to be a reliable marker for ongoing post-operative complications.

Keywords::

• High sensitive troponin
• cardiac surgery
• coronary artery bypass grafting

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We gratefully thank Dr. Kaveh Mehdiani and Dr. Alexander Hadjiangelou for the critical reading of the manuscript and excellent editorial assistance.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

none declared.