Elderly patients with non-cardiac admissions and elevated highsensitivity troponin:the prognostic value of renal function

BACKGROUND High-sensitivity cardiac troponin(hs-cTn)levels are frequently elevated in elderly patients presenting to the emergency department for non-cardiac events.However,most studies on the role of elevated hs-cTn in elderly populations have investigated the prognostic value of hs-cTn in patients with a specific diagnosis or have assessed the relationship between hs-cTn and comorbidities.AIM To investigate the in-hospital prognosis of consecutive elderly patients admitted to the Internal Medicine Department with acute non-cardiac events and increased hs-cTnI levels.METHODS In this retrospective study,we selected patients who were aged≥65 years and admitted to the Internal Medicine Department of our hospital between January 2019 and December 2019 for non-cardiac reasons.Eligible patients were those who had hs-cTnI concentrations≥100 ng/L.We investigated the independent predictors of in-hospital mortality by multivariable logistic regression analysis.RESULTS One hundred and forty-six patients(59%female)were selected with an age range from 65 to 100(mean±SD:85.4±7.61)years.The median hs-cTnI value was 284.2 ng/L.For 72(49%)patients the diagnosis of hospitalization was an infectious disease.The overall in-hospital mortality was 32%(47 patients).Individuals who died did not have higher hs-cTnI levels compared with those who were discharged alive(median:314.8 vs 282.5 ng/L;P=0.565).There was no difference in mortality in patients with infectious vs non-infectious disease(29%vs 35%).Multivariable analysis showed that age(OR 1.062 per 1 year increase,95%CI:1.000-1.127;P=0.048)and creatinine levels(OR 2.065 per 1 mg/dL increase,95%CI:1.383-3.085;P<0.001)were the only independent predictors of death.Mortality was 49%in patients with eGFR<30 mL/min/1.73 m2.CONCLUSION Myocardial injury is a malignant condition in elderly patients admitted to the hospital for non-cardiac reasons.The presence of severe renal impairment is a marker of extremely high in-hospital mortality.

Comparison of plasma microRNA-1 and cardiac troponin T in early diagnosis of patients with acute myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND:Early reperfusion can effectively treat acute myocardial infarction(AMI) and reduce the mortality signif icantly. This study aimed to compare the role of plasma microRNA-1(miR-1) and cardiac troponin T(cTnT) in early diagnosis of AMI patients.METHODS:From May 2011 to May 2012,plasma samples were collected from 56 AMI patients and 28 non-AMI controls. The expression of plasma miR-1 was measured by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR),and the level of plasma cTnT was measured using electrochemiluminescence-based methods on an Elecsys 2010 Immunoassay Analyzer. SPSS 16.0 was used for the statistical analysis of the results. Data were expressed as mean±standard deviation unless otherwise described. The differences about clinical characteristics between the AMI patients and controls were tested using Student's t test or Fisher's exact test. The Mann-Whitney U test was conducted to compare the expression of microRNAs between the AMI patients and controls. MicroRNAs expression between different intervals of the AMI patients was compared using Wilcoxon's signed-rank test. The receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve was established to discriminate the AMI patients from the controls.RESULTS:In the present study,the expression of plasma miR-1 was signifi cantly increased in the AMI patients compared with the healthy controls(P<0.01). The plasma miR-1 in the AMI patients decreased to the normal level at 14 days(P>0.05). The expression of plasma miR-1 was not related to the clinical characteristics of the study population(P>0.05). ROC curve analyses demonstrated that miR-1 was specifi c and sensitive for the early diagnosis of AMI,but not superior to cTnT.CONCLUSION:Plasma miR-1 could be used in the early diagnosis of AMI,but it is similar to cTnT.