Monday, December 31, 2007

Monday December 31, 2007


Case; 79 year old male admitted with Non ST segment elevation acute MI (myocardial infarction). Patient is treated conservatively without any invasive intervention. Clinically patient stabalized, has no symptoms and echocardiogram remains stable. Pt. seems ready to go to telemetry floor on 4th day of admission but on review of labs, Troponin-I remain elevated around 18 ng per milliliter.


Answer:
Troponin, once secreted, remains elevated for 7-10 days.

Troponin I is not expressed in human skeletal muscle and is highly specific for myocardial tissue, and should not be detectable in the blood of healthy persons but remains elevated for 7 to 10 days after an episode of myocardial infarction.



References: click to get abstract / article

1. Cardiac-Specific Troponin I Levels to Predict the Risk of Mortality in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes - Volume 335:1342-1349, October 31, 1996, The New England Journal of Medicine