Prognostic value of a qualitative test for heart-type fatty acid-binding protein in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (h-FABP) is a novel diagnostic marker for myocardial infarction, but its prognostic value has not been established in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We sought to determine the value of qualitative analysis of h-FABP for predicting 30-day adverse events in patients with ACS. A retrospective observational study was conducted on patients at a community hospital, and 130 patients admitted through the emergency room (ER) for ACS were identified among 12,077 patients who presented to the ER between January and June 2003. Of these 130 patients, 90 (mean age, 66.8 years, 67 males) who had ACS were eligible for this study. Qualitative tests for serum h-FABP and troponin T (cTnT) were performed on presentation. Follow-up information on adverse events within 30 days after admission, defined as cardiac death or recurrent ACS, was obtained from the medical records. The qualitative tests for h-FABP and troponin T were positive in 62.2% and 36.7%, respectively. The cumulative adverse event rate at 30 days was 14.8% in the h-FABP-positive group and 3.2% in the negative group. The adjusted relative risk of a positive h-FABP test for adverse events was 44.98 (95% CI: 1.48 to 1364.88). A positive h-FABP test was an independent predictor of adverse events within 30 days in these patients.