A Cross-Sectional Study for Determining the Role of High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T in Predicting 4-Month Mortality during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Positivity of cardiac troponins is common in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and may serve as an additional risk stratification tool in everyday clinical settings. Since patients with elevated troponins have a higher risk of in-hospital mortality, troponins have prognostic importance. As well as in-hospital mortality, high-sensitive troponin T may reflect 4-month mortality. We analyzed the relationship between cardiac troponin T levels and 4-month mortality of COVID-19.

Materials and methods: It was conducted as a retrospective cross-sectional study in Health Sciences University Dr. Suat Seren Chest Diseases and Chest Surgery Training and Research Hospital Izmir, Turkey, with COVID-19 pneumonia patients during the first wave of the pandemic. We analyzed their comorbidities, C-reactive protein, ferritin, aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, cardiac troponin T, N-terminal-prohormone B-type-natriuretic peptide, international normalized ratio; duration of hospital stay, and survival status.

Results: Factors associated with mortality were cardiac troponin T > 0.53 pg/dl (p = 0.009) and aspartate transaminase > 26.5 U/l (p = 0.012). The threshold for cardiac troponin T to predict 4-month mortality was 5.83pg/ml. Its sensitivity was 82.8% and its specificity was 66.4%.

Conclusion: Cardiac troponin T and AST are indicators that can be used to predict 4-month mortality in addition to showing in-hospital mortality. The threshold for cardiac troponin T to predict 4-month all-cause mortality is 5.83pg/ml. The mortality difference persists at the beginning, middle, and end of the 4 months. Reference thresholds likely underestimate the true prognostic extent of cardiac injury and lower cutoff values may show mortality.