title: Cardiac troponin I levels and clinical outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndromes: the potential role of early percutaneous revascularization.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish the role of early catheter-based coronary intervention among patients sustaining acute coronary syndromes (ACS) stratified according to admission plasma troponin I (Tn-I) levels.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The impact of early revascularization strategy on the clinical outcomes in patients with ACS stratified by plasma Tn-I levels has not been established.
  
  
  METHODS
  In-hospital complications and long-term outcomes were assessed in 1,321 consecutive patients with non-ST elevation ACS undergoing early (within 72 h) catheter-based coronary interventions. Patients were grouped according to admission Tn-I levels. Group I (n = 1,099) had no elevated plasma Tn-I (<0.15 ng/ml), Group II (n = 95) had Tn-I level between 0.15 to 0.45 ng/ml and Group III (n = 127) had Tn-I >0.45 ng/ml. In-hospital composite cardiac events (death, Q-wave MI, urgent in-hospital revascularization) and 8 months clinical outcomes (death, MI, repeat revascularization or any cardiac event) were compared between the three groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rate of in-hospital composite cardiac events was 6.1% among patients with Tn-I >0.45 ng/ml, 1.0% in patients with Tn-I between 0.15-0.45 ng/ml and 3.1% in patients without elevated admission Tn-I (p = 0.09 between groups). There was no difference in hospital mortality (p = 0.25). At eight months of follow-up, there was no difference in out-of-hospital death (3.5%, 3.8% and 1.8%, p = 0.17, respectively), MI (2.6%, 3.8% and 2.9%, p = 0.94) or target lesion revascularization (9.0%, 8.3% and 11.5%, p = 0.47), and cardiac event-free survival was also similar between groups (p = 0.66). By multivariate analysis, Tn-I >0.45 ng/ml was independently associated with in-hospital composite cardiac events [odds ratio (OR) = 2.4, p = 0.04] but not with out-of-hospital clinical events up to eight months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with ACS, early (within 72 h) catheter-based coronary intervention may attenuate the adverse prognostic impact of admission Tn-I elevation during eight months of follow-up despite a trend towards increased in-hospital composite cardiac events.
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and The Cardiovascular Research Foundation, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kornowski
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mehran
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Satler
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Pichard
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Kent
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Slack
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Leon
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000601:surgery*; D003402:Creatine Kinase / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009204:Myocardial Revascularization; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013577:Syndrome; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019210:Troponin I / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D007527:Isoenzymes; D019210:Troponin I; D003402:Creatine Kinase