Troponin-T levels in perinatally asphyxiated infants during the first 15 days of life.
OBJECTIVE
To measure serial cardiac troponin-T, creatine kinase, creatine kinase-MB, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase levels in asphyxiated newborn infants during the first 15 d of life.


METHODS
Troponin-T, creatine kinase, creatine kinase-MB, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) concentrations were measured prospectively in blood samples obtained from 45 asphyxiated and 15 healthy term neonates within the first 2-4 h, third, seventh and 15th days.


RESULTS
Infants with severe asphyxia had significantly higher cardiac troponin-T levels than grade I and II asphyxiated and healthy neonates within the first 2-4 h of life (0.34+/-0.21 ag/ml vs 0.07+/-0.03 ag/ml, 0.12+/-0.07 ag/ml, 0.04+/-0.02 ag/ml, respectively). Troponin-T levels remained high on days 3 and 7 in severely asphyxiated neonates. The creatinine kinase-MB levels were significantly higher in grade II and III asphyxiated neonates than grade I asphyxiated and healthy neonates within the first 2-4 h. No difference was found in creatinine kinase-MB on day 3. There was cardiac involvement in 12 (80%) newborns of group III on B mode echocardiographic images on day 1. However, no echocardigraphic pathology was found in the seventh- and 15th-day echocardiographic analysis in any groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that asphyxia-related cardiac changes were significant but reversible in severely asphyxiated neonates, and troponin T is a good determinant of the degree of injury to the heart within the first week of life. Cardiac troponin T also has a wider diagnostic frame than other diagnostic markers of myocardial damage.
Güneś
Tamer
T
Division of Neonatology, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey. trgunes@ercites.edu.tr
Oztürk
M Adnan
MA
Köklü
Selmin Muradaldi
SM
Narin
Nazmi
N
Köklü
Esad
E
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001238:Asphyxia Neonatorum / Q000097:blood* / Q000201:enzymology; D015415:Biomarkers; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000097:blood* / Q000201:enzymology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020107:Troponin T / Q000097:blood*
D015415:Biomarkers; D020107:Troponin T