Cardiac troponin T as a marker of mortality in major trauma

Takeaway

• Cardiac troponin T (cTnT) was associated with all-cause mortality in major trauma patients on admission to a UK major trauma centre critical care unit.

Why this matters

• Findings support the need for prospective verification that may suggest including cTnT into widely used major trauma risk prediction models.

Study designoponin

• Retrospective study included 243 major trauma patients (median age, 51.7 years) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).
• Primary outcome: all-cause mortality hospital mortality with cTnT level as the main explanatory variable.
• Funding: None.

Key results

• Of the 243 patients, 174 patients survived to hospital discharge and 69 patients died.
• cTnT level was higher in those who died compared to survivors (42 ng/L vs 13 ng/L; P<.0001).
• Risk for all-cause mortality increased with rise in cTnT level, with 53.3% dying if the cTnT level was in the highest quartile (>55 ng/L) vs 11.5% in the lowest quartile (≤7 ng/L).
• This effect was independent of age or Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation score.

Limitations

• Retrospective design.