The effect of magnesium sulfate treatment on serum cardiac troponin I levels in preeclamptic women

AIM: To investigate serum cardiac troponin I levels before and after magnesium sulfate treatment in preeclamptic pregnant women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-five pregnant women were included in the prospectively planned study. Study group patients (n = 25) were pregnant women hospitalized with a preeclampsia diagnosis while the control group (n = 30) were pregnant women with no medical or obstetric problem who had been attending the antenatal clinic. Serum cardiac troponin I levels were compared in the normal pregnant women and in preeclamptic pregnant women. These levels were also compared in the preeclamptic women before and after magnesium sulfate treatment. Mann-Whitney U-test was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Groups were similar with respect to age, gravity, parity, and gestational age. The median serum cardiac troponin I levels in preeclamptic patients was 0.20 ng/ml (0.02-4.53) before treatment and 0.09 ng/ml (0.02-3.91) after treatment, while it was 0.02 ng/ml (0.0-0.05) in the control group. The serum cardiac troponin I level in the preeclamptic group was significantly high (P < 0.01), and pretreatment values in this group were significantly higher compared with post-treatment values (P < 0.01) CONCLUSION: Cardiac troponin I is a sensitive parameter for indicating minor myocardial damage which may occur in preeclampsia and for evaluating the efficiency of magnesium sulfate treatment.