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Usefulness of heart-type fatty acid-binding protein in patients with severe sepsis

Zhao-cai Zhang1, Hai-wen Dai, Yi-hua Yu

  • 1Department of Cardiology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China. zhaocaiz@aol.com

Journal of Critical Care
|March 6, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (hFABP) is a valuable biomarker in severe sepsis, aiding in the diagnosis of sepsis-related myocardial dysfunction and predicting 28-day mortality more effectively than traditional markers.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Critical Care Medicine
  • Biomarker Discovery

Background:

  • Severe sepsis poses significant risks, including myocardial dysfunction.
  • Novel biomarkers are needed for early diagnosis and prognosis in sepsis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (hFABP) as a clinical biomarker in severe sepsis.
  • To evaluate hFABP's utility in diagnosing sepsis-related myocardial dysfunction (SRMD) and predicting mortality.

Main Methods:

  • Serum hFABP and cardiac biomarkers were measured in 93 severe septic patients.
  • Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate diagnostic and prognostic value.
  • Multivariate Cox and Kaplan-Meier analyses confirmed prognostic significance.

Main Results:

  • Elevated hFABP (≥ 4.5 ng/mL) was found in 62.4% of patients.
  • Elevated hFABP correlated with higher rates of SRMD (84.5% vs 31.4%) and 28-day mortality (37.9% vs 8.6%).
  • hFABP demonstrated superior diagnostic (AUC 0.767) and prognostic (AUC 0.805) value compared to conventional biomarkers.

Conclusions:

  • Serum hFABP is frequently elevated in severe sepsis and linked to SRMD.
  • Elevated hFABP independently predicts 28-day mortality in severe sepsis patients.
Abstract

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