Related Experiment Videos
Increase in creatine kinase MB isoenzyme levels after spinal surgery
L G Lenke1, K H Bridwell, A S Jaffe
1Department of Surgery, Washington University Medical Center, St. Louis, Missouri 63110.
Journal of Spinal Disorders
|February 1, 1994
Summary
Postoperative spinal surgery patients may show elevated creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) levels, indicating skeletal muscle injury, not heart damage. These enzyme elevations should not solely diagnose myocardial infarction in this population.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Cardiology
- Orthopedic Surgery
Background:
- Creatine kinase (CK) and its isoenzyme CK-MB are key biomarkers for myocardial tissue damage.
- Elevated CK-MB levels can also result from skeletal muscle injury, complicating diagnosis postoperatively.
Purpose of the Study:
- To prospectively determine the frequency of CK-MB elevations after spinal surgery.
- To identify clinical correlates of these postoperative enzyme elevations.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study of 20 consecutive spinal surgical procedures in 17 adult patients.
- Serial assays of total CK, CK-MB, and percent MB were performed postoperatively.
Main Results:
- Elevated CK-MB levels were observed in 55% of spinal surgery procedures.
- These elevations occurred without overt clinical signs of myocardial injury.
- CK-MB elevations correlated with operative time and surgical dissection length.
Conclusions:
- Postspinal surgery CK-MB elevations are common and can originate from skeletal muscle injury.
- Relying solely on enzyme elevations to diagnose myocardial infarction in these patients is unreliable.