Abstract
Objectives. We sought to evaluate whether troponin T might be used for identification of patients with unstable coronary artery disease in whom treatment with low molecular weight heparin is beneficial.Background. Early identification of subgroups with differences in response to a certain treatment is important to optimize the utilization of different therapeutic approaches.Methods. Nine-hundred seventy-one patients with unstable coronary artery disease who participated in a trial of the low molecular weight heparin dalteparin (Fragmin) and who provided blood samples were classified into subgroups according to troponin T level. In the short-term phase all patients received subcutaneous dalteparin/placebo twice daily for 6 days. During the long-term phase they continued with daltparin/placebo once daily for another 5 weeks.Results. In the short-term phase, dalteparin reduced the incidence of death or myocardial infarction from 2.4% to 0% (p = 0.12) and from 6.0% to 2.5% (p < 0.05) in 327 and 644 patients with troponin T levels <0.1 and ≥0.1 μg/liter, respectively. During long-term treatment there was an increasing difference between the placebo and dalteparin group in those with troponin T levels ≥0.1 μg/liter, in whom the incidences at 40 days were 14.2% and 7.4%, respectively (p < 0.01). In contrast, no beneficial effect of the long-term treatment could be demonstrated in those with troponin T levels <0.1 μg/liter (4.7% vs. 5.7%).Conclusions. Elevation of troponin T identifies a subgroup of patients in whom prolonged antithrombotic treatment (e.g., with dalteparin) is beneficial.(J Am Coll Cardiol 1997;29:43–8)>
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.