Is serum troponin T a useful marker of myocardial damage in newborn infants with perinatal asphyxia?
OBJECTIVE
To assess the correlation of echocardiographic signs of myocardial damage to serum cardiac troponin T (cTnT) concentrations in newborn infants with perinatal asphyxia.


METHODS
Electocardiograms (ECG) and echocardiograms (Echo) were obtained during the first 24 h of life from 29 asphyxiated and 30 control infants and correlated with cTnT concentrations. The echocardiographic parameters included systolic ventricular performance, preload, afterload, diastolic function, stroke volume (SV), left ventricular output (LVO), hyperechogenity of the papillary muscles and insufficiency of the atrioventricular valves.


RESULTS
LVO and SV were lower but CTnT were significantly higher in asphyxiated than in control infants: 0.15 (010-0.23) vs. 0.05 (0.02-0.13), p < 0.001). Asphyxiated infants with signs of myocardial damage were associated with significantly higher cTnT than those without, 0.20 (0.11-0.28) and 0.11 (0.05-0.14 ug/L), p = 0.04.


CONCLUSIONS
Cardiac troponin may prove to be valuable in evaluating myocardial damage in birth asphyxia. However, the degree of prematurity may complicate the assessment.
Costa
S
S
Division of Neonatology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy. simocosta@yahoo.it
Zecca
E
E
De Rosa
G
G
De Luca
D
D
Barbato
G
G
Pardeo
M
M
Romagnoli
C
C
D001238:Asphyxia Neonatorum / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000502:physiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004452:Echocardiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020107:Troponin T / Q000097:blood*
D015415:Biomarkers; D020107:Troponin T