[Performance and clinical utility of a high-sensitivity troponin T assay]

In the present study, we evaluated the performance and clinical utility of a high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-cTnT) assay. The within- and between-assay variations (coefficients of variation: CV) in the low and high concentrations of troponin T in serum samples were 0.84% to 3.34%, respectively. Analysis of interferents showed that only hemoglobin negatively influenced the assay results. Blank assay was < 0.001 ng/mL, and a limit of quantification (10% CV) was found at 0.005 ng/mL. The correlation coefficient (r) between hs-cTnT and the conventional assay was 0.997 (p < 0.000). The high-sensitivity assay system could detect cTnT in 88% of samples in which the conventional assay could not detect any immunoreactivity. The 99th percentile in healthy subjects, determined using 559 samples from medical checkups, was 0.011 ng/mL. There was a gender difference (hs-cTnT levels were higher in men than in women), and hs-cTnT levels increased with age. Because hs-cTnT level exceeded 0.011 ng/mL approximately 2 hours after the onset of chest pain in patients with acute myocardial infarction, hs-cTnT can serve as a biomarker for early detection of myocardial infarction. There was a positive correlation (r = 0.491, p < 0.001) between hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP, and hs-cTnT levels increased with the progression of the disease state, as assessed using New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification. These findings indicate that the hs-cTnT assay is sensitive enough to diagnose early-stage acute myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure.