Prognostic role of copeptin with all-cause mortality after heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: As the C-terminal section of vasopressin precursor, copeptin has been recently suggested as a new prognostic biomarker after heart failure (HF). Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of plasma copeptin level with all-cause mortality in patients with HF. METHODS: Comprehensive strategies were used to search relevant studies from electronic databases. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and standardized mean differences (SMDs) together with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed to find the potential sources of heterogeneity. RESULTS: A total of 5,989 participants from 17 prospective studies were included in this meta-analysis. A significant association was observed between circulating copeptin levels and risk of all-cause mortality in patients with HF (categorical copeptin: HR =1.69, 95% CI =1.42–2.01; per unit copeptin: HR =1.03, 95% CI =1.00–1.07; log unit copeptin: HR =3.26, 95% CI =0.95–11.25). Pooled SMD showed that copeptin levels were significantly higher in patients with HF who died during the follow-up period than in survivors (SMD =1.19, 95% CI =0.81–1.57). Subgroup analyses also confirmed this significant association, while sensitivity analyses indicated that the overall results were stable. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that circulating copeptin seemed to be a novel biomarker to provide better prediction of all-cause mortality in patients with HF.