[Value of cardiac troponin T in predicting the prognosis of patients with cardiogenic shock receiving veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation treatment: a consecutive 5-year retrospective study].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the changing trend of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) in patients with cardiogenic shock (CS) receiving veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-A ECMO) and its predictive value.

METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted. The data of patients with CS receiving V-A ECMO admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from March 2015 to May 2020 were enrolled. The baseline data, ECMO related parameters, serum cTnT levels at 1, 2, 3 days after ECMO and intensive care unit (ICU) prognosis were recorded. The parameters with clinical significance and significant difference in univariate analysis were analyzed by binary multivariate Logistic regression analysis. Meanwhile, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn, area under ROC curve (AUC) was analyzed, and the threshold, sensitivity and specificity of serum cTnT level and its reduction rate for predicting clinical outcome were evaluated.

RESULTS: A total of 72 patients were enrolled, of which 42 survived and 30 died at ICU discharge, and the ICU mortality was 41.7%. Univariate analysis results: compared with the survival group, the patients in the death group had higher acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score [32 (30, 34) vs. 29 (25, 30)], and the incidence of cardiac arrest before ECMO (70.0% vs. 31.0%), the ratios of invasive mechanical ventilation and continuous renal replacement therapy during ECMO were higher (96.7% vs. 66.7%, 83.3% vs. 42.9%), and the differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). Serum cTnT levels (ng/L) at 2 days and 3 days after ECMO in the death group were significantly higher than those in the survival group [2 days: 6 373.5 (898.3, 15 251.5) vs. 1 760.5 (933.0, 4 257.8), 3 day: 6 202.0 (758.9, 16 554.3) vs. 1 678.0 (623.3, 3 407.8), both P < 0.05], and the decrease rates of cTnT within 2 days and 3 days after ECMO were significantly lower than those in the survival group [2 days: 17.3% (-44.2%, 34.7%) vs. 36.8% (18.1%, 60.6%), 3 days: 32.4% (-30.0%, 55.5%) vs. 53.2% (38.3%, 72.3%), both P < 0.05]. Binary multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that cardiac arrest before ECMO [odds ratio (OR) = 4.564, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 1.212-17.193, P = 0.025] and the decrease rate of cTnT level within 2 days after ECMO (OR = 1.617, 95%CI was 1.144-4.847, P = 0.026) were independent prognostic risk factors for the ICU death of CS patients receiving V-A ECMO. ROC curve analysis showed that the decline rate of cTnT within 2 days after ECMO transfer had a certain predictive value for the ICU death of CS patients receiving V-A ECMO. The AUC was 0.704 (95%CI was 0.584-0.824). The optimal diagnostic threshold was 40.0%, the sensitivity was 86.7%, the specificity was 52.4%, the positive predictive value was 66.9%, and the negative predictive value was 89.1%.

CONCLUSIONS: The early decline rate of cTnT in CS patients who received V-A ECMO treatment in death group was lower than that of survival patients. The cTnT decline rate 2 days after ECMO was an independent risk factor for the death of such patients.