Cardiac Troponin Levels Following Complicated and Uncomplicated Epileptic Seizures

Abstract

Cardiac troponins are tests with high sensitivity and specificity and selective biomarkers for diagnosis of acute myocardial infarct. Epilepsy is one of the common neurological diseases that presents as recurrent seizures. This study was designed to assess the troponin levels in patients with complicated and uncomplicated seizures. Included in the study were hospitalized patients in Fatemieh Hospital, Semnan, Iran who were referred due to seizures with normal ECG and echocardiography and without critical features of cardiac diseases. Based on the results of pulse oximetry, K, urine analysis and CPK, patients were divided into two groups: complicated and uncomplicated. Thirty patients with complicated seizures and 30 additional patients with uncomplicated seizures were investigated; 53.3% of both groups were male. The mean (±SD) age of patients with complicated and uncomplicated seizures were 43.4 ± 15.5 and 44.7 ± 21.5 years, respectively (p= 0.789). The mean (±SD) troponin I level in patients with complicated seizure was 0.61 ± 0.26 ng/mL, whereas it was 0.41 ± 0.30ng/mL in control group (p= 0.005). In none of the patients was troponin level higher than the normal value. Although troponin I is considered as a sensitive and specific marker for diagnosis of cardiac tissue injury, association between its increasing plasma levels with complicated seizures was shown. Troponin I level perhaps may be used as a risk factor in patients with complicated seizures.