Multi-Marker Approach with the Use of Biochip Cardiac Array Technology for Early Diagnosis in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes

INTRODUCTION: Diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is frequently a challenging task while immediate risk stratification remains crucial for the prompt implementation of appropriate therapy in this setting. The prolonged release pattern of both CK-MB mass and cardiac troponins makes it difficult to identify the origin of recent chest pain, thus a combination of early and later biomarkers might further facilitate the differential diagnosis. The study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of multi-marker approach using biochip array technology in identifying ACS shortly after the symptom onset. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 42 patients suspected for ACS. Subjects were diagnosed as presenting with unstable angina (UA), non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) or ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Biomarkers in the serum were determined twice: on admission (≤6 hours from the chest pain onset) and after next 6 hours. Cardiac troponin I was measured by routine sensitive automated assay (STAT cTnI) while other 6 cardiac markers (heart-fatty acid binding protein - H-FABP, myoglobin, glycogen phosphorylase BB, cTn I, CK-MB mass and carbonic anhydrase III) were assessed using biochip array technology. RESULTS: STAT cTnI concentrations within 6 hours from the symptom onset were elevated over the 99(th) percentile for reference population in 83.3% of subjects but none reached the cut-off value for myocardial infarction. Instead, H-FABP demonstrated a very good efficacy in early detection of ACS (90.5%), better than myoglobin and CK-MB mass. Sensitivity of H-FABP calculated for NSTEMI/STEMI subjects reached 100%. The diagnostic efficacy of troponin, myoglobin and CK-MB mass assay markedly increased within 12 hours. It was only for the patients with UA that the cardiac panel was not efficient in the early stratification of risk. CONCLUSIONS: A multi-marker strategy with H-FABP and highly sensitive troponin included enhances the early diagnosis and decision making process in patients with ACS. A new biochip cardiac array technology may serve as a powerful tool for ACS detection in the clinical practice.