Role of serial troponin measurements in risk stratification of acute pulmonary embolism

Type of funding sources: None.

Many parameters are used to help in risk stratification of pulmonary embolism. Troponin levels are one of them but currently are used as a dichotomous value ( positive or negative ). We sought to retrospectively analyse and correlate serial troponin measurements with important clinical and radiological parameters.

To investigate the association of serial troponin measurements to important clinical and radiographic parameters

We retrospectively analysed all patients with a diagnosis of pulmonary embolism during 2019 in our centre. Using the electronic patient records, data regarding serial troponin measurements, echocardiographic and CT derived RV strain, catheter directed thrombolysis, intravenous thrombolysis, in hospital and 30 days mortality were collected.

35 patients from a total of 138 cases of confirmed pulmonary embolism, had serial troponin measurements. This small cohort was divided in patients with reducing levels of troponin and in those with increasing with time values of troponin. The group of patients with reducing levels of troponin had no in hospital or 30 days mortality, whereas 68% of patients with rising troponin levels had either thrombolysis or catheter directed thrombolysis during their hospital admission. A significant percentage of both groups had CT evidence of RV strain.

This is a small retrospective analysis of the potential association of serial troponin measurements with risk stratification of patients with acute pulmonary embolism. Due to the retrospective nature of the analysis the results should be viewed as hypothesis generating only.