Assessment of Troponin I Levels as a Predictor of Mortality in Acute Decompensated Heart Failure

BACKGROUND: Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is a highly prevalent diagnosis in the emergency department and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. As mortality remains high even in patients discharged from the emergency, it becomes mandatory to identify markers predictive of mortality in order to guide the disposition of such patients. No literature is available on the prognostic significance of Troponin I in ADHF patients in an emergency setting from an Indian standpoint. OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed at identifying the ability of Troponin I levels at presentation to predict one-month mortality in patients with ADHF. METHODS: The study was conducted in the emergency department of a tertiary healthcare center in north India. Serum cardiac Troponin I (cTnI) levels at presentation were assayed in 101 patients and a one-month follow-up was done. RESULTS: cTnI levels were > 0.02 ng/mL in 51 patients (50.5%). ROC analysis showed an accuracy of 63% in predicting mortality (p < 0.05). Univariate and multivariate analysis showed an OR of 2.58 and 2.74, respectively (p - 0.037 and 0.047, respectively), suggesting cTnI to be a significant predictor of mortality in ADHF. N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) (OR - 2.09; p - 0.229) and left ventricular ejection fraction (OR - 2.01; p - 0.157) were not found to be significant predictors of mortality on regression analysis. CONCLUSION: cTnI levels at presentation are a significant predictor of short-term mortality in ADHF and can be used in an emergency setting to guide treatment, disposition, and follow-up plans of these patients.