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Published on: October 10, 2019

Cardiac troponin T in children with acute rheumatic carditis

Osman Ozdemir1, Deniz Oguz, Emel Atmaca

  • 1Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Kecioren Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. pedkard@gmail.com

Pediatric Cardiology
|October 20, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Active rheumatic carditis may cause minor cardiac myocyte damage, even without pericarditis. Elevated cardiac troponin T (cTnT) levels, a marker for heart muscle injury, suggest this damage in patients with acute rheumatic fever.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Pediatrics
  • Rheumatology

Background:

  • Cardiac involvement in active rheumatic carditis, particularly without pericarditis, remains unclear.
  • Assessing cardiac myocyte damage is crucial for managing acute rheumatic fever (ARF).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine cardiac myocyte damage in active rheumatic carditis using cardiac troponin T (cTnT) measurements.
  • To investigate potential indicators of cardiac damage in ARF patients.

Main Methods:

  • Compared levels of CK-MB, cTnT, ESR, CRP, CTR, and FS between 28 active rheumatic carditis patients and 32 healthy children.
  • Utilized Mann-Whitney U test for group comparisons and Spearman correlation for association analysis.

Main Results:

  • Patients with active rheumatic carditis showed statistically higher ESR, CRP, cTnT levels, and CTR compared to controls.
  • No significant differences were observed in CK-MB levels or fractional shortening between the groups.
  • No correlations were found between cTnT levels and ESR, CRP, or CTR in the patient cohort.

Conclusions:

  • Statistically significant increases in cTnT levels may indicate minor cardiac damage in active carditis due to ARF.
  • Non-pathological cTnT levels suggest the absence of serious cardiac damage in these patients.

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