Cardiac troponin-T in acute pericarditis

The long-term outcome of acute pericarditis with high cardiac troponin-T (cTnT) is unknown. Our purpose was to investigate the prognostic and clinical value of cTnT in myopericardial inflammatory syndromes.

Between January 2001 and September 2011, 107 patients hospitalized for acute pericarditis or myopericarditis were enrolled. Postinfarction pericarditis and neoplastic pericarditis were excluded. Physical examination, ECG, echocardiography and blood tests were performed.

Among the 105 patients (89% men, mean age 36 ± 15 years-old), a cTnT rise was detectable in 64 patients (60.9%). Only younger age was found as an independent factor for higher values of cTnT in multivariate analysis (P = 0.03). After a mean follow-up of 51 months, a similar rate of complications was found in patients with a positive or a negative cTnT test: recurrent pericarditis (11 vs. 19%, P = 0.23) and cardiac tamponade (2 vs. 5%, P = 0.56). No cases of constrictive pericarditis, residual left ventricular dysfunction or hospital death were detected. The left ventricular ejection fraction remained unchanged during the follow-up (62.6 ± 6.5 vs. 61.9 ± 5.8, P = 0.89).

In acute pericarditis, a cTnT rise is a frequent finding and commonly found in younger patients. However, unlike acute coronary syndrome, cTnT rise is not a negative prognostic marker.