THE USE OF BIOCHIP CARDIAC ARRAY TECHNOLOGY FOR EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROMES

Serum troponin is the best biomarker for the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome, but it takes considerable time before a definitive diagnosis is available. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a multi-marker approach, using the biochip cardiac array, would facilitate the early diagnosis. Serum biomarkers were determined on admission (<= 6 hrs) and after 6 hours in 42 patients suspected for ACS. Cardiac troponin I was measured by a sensitive assay (STATcTnI) and cardiac markers (H-FABP myoglobin, cTnI, CK-MB mass, carbonic anhydrase III) were assayed with the use of Biochip Array Technology. STATcTnI concentrations, within the first 6 hours, were elevated >99(th) percentile for the reference population in 83.3% of subjects, but none reached the cutoff for AMI. On admission H-FABP was the only marker with 90.5% sensitivity in all ACS cases and 100% sensitivity in STEMI/NSTEMI patients. The sensitivity of myoglobin at presentation was 71.4% in ACS, however, combined sensitivity of myoglobin and H-FABP reached 95.2%. Lowering the cut-off for cTnI allowed early diagnosis (<= 6 hrs) in only 26.2% of ACS patients and 95.2% after the next 6 hours. In unstable angina the cardiac panel was not sufficiently accurate for early risk stratification. In conclusion, testing for both markers, H-FABP and sensitive cardiac troponin, available with the cardiac array may facilitate the early detection of myocardial injury in clinical practice.