Comparison of the performances of cardiac troponins, including sensitive assays, and copeptin in the diagnostic of acute myocardial infarction and long-term prognosis between women and men.

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Comparison of the performances of cardiac troponins, including sensitive assays, and copeptin in the diagnostic of acute myocardial infarction and long-term prognosis between women and men.

Am Heart J. 2013 Jul;166(1):30-7

Authors: Balmelli C, Meune C, Twerenbold R, Reichlin T, Rieder S, Drexler B, Rubini MG, Mosimann T, Reiter M, Haaf P, Mueller M, Ernst S, Ballarino P, Alafify AA, Zellweger C, Wildi K, Moehring B, Vilaplana C, Bernhard D, Merk S, Ebmeyer S, Freidank H, Osswald S, Mueller C

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Concerns have been raised about possible gender disparities in cardiac investigations and/or outcome. This study sought to examine and compare the diagnostic and prognostic performance of selected cardiac biomarkers in women versus men.
METHODS: In a prospective, multicenter cohort of patients with acute chest pain cardiac troponin T (cTnT) (fourth-generation Roche assay), high-sensitivity cTnT (hs-cTnT), and copeptin were measured at presentation.
RESULTS: Of 1,247 patients, 420 were women and 827 were men. Although the rate of acute myocardial infarction was similar in women (14.5%) and men (16.6%, P = .351), women more frequently had cardiac but noncoronary causes of chest pain (17.4% vs 10.8%, P = .001) and less frequently had unstable angina (8.8% vs 16.6%, P = .002) than men. Diagnostic accuracy as quantified by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for acute myocardial infarction in women was 0.90 (95% CI 0.84-0.95) for cTnT, which was lower than the AUC for hs-cTnT alone (0.94, 95% CI [0.91-0.98]), the combination of cTnT with copeptin (0.96, 95% CI [0.94-0.98]) or the combination of hs-cTnT with copeptin (0.96, 95% CI [0.93-0.98]) (P = .008, P = .006, and P = .002, respectively). Prognostic accuracy as quantified by the AUCs for 1-year mortality was 0.69 (0.56-0.83), 0.86 (0.79-0.93), 0.87 (0.81-0.94), and 0.87 (0.80-0.94), respectively. No relevant gender differences in AUCs were observed.
CONCLUSION: The diagnostic and prognostic performance of cTnT, hs-cTnT, and copeptin is as good in women as in men. High-sensitivity cTnT and the combination of cTnT and copeptin outperform cTnT alone, both in women and men.

PMID: 23816018 [PubMed - in process]

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