Copeptin, albumin and routine inflammatory markers are predictors of one-year mortality in patients with advanced heart failure underwent cardiac transplantation evaluation

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Despite significant advances in the prevention and treatment of heart failure (HF), the prognosis for patients with advanced stage of the disease is still poor. Therefore, a better understanding of the underlying HF pathophysiological mechanisms is crucial to improve prognosis in patients with advanced HF. One important research area is the role of inflammation in the pathophysiology of HF. Purpose This study aimed to investigate factors associated with mortality in HF patients with particular emphasis placed on inflammatory markers. Methods This is a prospective analysis of 282 optimally treated HF patients hospitalised in Cardiology Department between 2016 and 2018 for heart transplantation (HT) evaluation. Patients with contraindications to HT were excluded from the study. At the baseline echocardiography, routine laboratory tests, an ergospirometric exercise test, and right heart catheterisation were performed in all patients. In addition, 10 ml of peripheral blood was collected to determine inflammatory biomarkers. Human procalcitonin and copeptin concentrations were measured by the sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with the commercially available kit. A highly sensitive latex-based immunoassay was used to detect plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) using the COBAS Integra 70 analyzer. The end-point of the study was all-cause mortality during one-year follow-up. The study protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of our medical university. All patients provided informed, voluntary consent to participate in the study. Results The median age of patients was 57 (51–60) and 87.6% of them were male. A total of 79 (28%) patients died during a one-year follow-up. Multivariate analysis of the Cox proportional hazard model confirmed that procalcitonin [hazard ratio (HR) 1.003 (1.002–1.003), p<0.001], high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) [HR 1.109 (1.039–1.183), p<0.002], copeptin [HR 1.109 (1.019–1.207), p<0.02] and albumin [HR 0.925 (0.873–0.979), p<0.01] serum concentrations, as well as Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) [HR 1.031 (1.001–1.063) p<0.05] were associated with mortality during a one-year follow-up. Conclusions Our study demonstrated that higher procalcitonin, CRP and copeptin serum concentrations as well as higher ESR and lower albumin serum concentrations are independently associated with reduced survival in patients with advanced HF. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): Medical University of Silesia