Procalcitonin in heart failure: hic et nunc

Acute heart failure: mechanisms and pre-clinical models-a Scientific Statement of the ESC Working Group on Myocardial Function

While chronic heart failure (CHF) treatment has considerably improved patient prognosis and survival, the therapeutic management of acute heart failure (AHF) has remained virtually unchanged in the last decades. This is partly due to the scarcity of pre-clinical models for the pathophysiological assessment and, consequently, the limited knowledge of molecular mechanisms involved in the different AHF phenotypes. This scientific statement outlines the different trajectories from acute to CHF originating from the interaction between aetiology, genetic and environmental factors, and comorbidities. Furthermore, we discuss the potential molecular targets capable of unveiling new therapeutic perspectives to improve the outcome of the acute phase and counteracting the evolution towards CHF.

Correlation between the serum procalcitonin level and the extension and severity of coronary artery disease in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

Research has shown correlations between some, but not all, inflammatory mediators and coronary atherosclerosis burden. Conflicting results have been reported on the correlation between the serum procalcitonin (PCT) level and the severity and extension of coronary artery disease (CAD). We evaluated the correlation between PCT and the severity and extension of CAD in patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this prospective cross-sectional study, the serum PCT level was measured 48 h after hospital admission in 131 patients with a diagnosis of NSTEMI. All the patients underwent selective coronary angiography, and the severity and extension of their CAD was evaluated with the Gensini score. The study population was assigned to two groups on the basis of the median of the Gensini score: those with a score higher than the median and those with a score lower than the median.

RESULTS

There was no statistically significant difference with regard to the serum PCT level between the two groups (P = 0.511). In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, after adjustment for the potential confounders, the serum PCT level was not a determinant of the Gensini score (P = 0.502).

CONCLUSION

The second 24-h postadmission serum PCT level was not correlated with the severity and extension of CAD according to the Gensini score in our patients with NSTEMI.

Biomarkers in Cardiorenal Syndromes

There is a consensus that cardiorenal syndromes (CRS) are defined as the disorders of heart and kidney where acute or chronic dysfunction in one organ may induce acute or chronic dysfunction in another. Patients with CRS have increased hospitalization and mortality rates, and thus their identification is of great implication. Biomarkers are not only predictive in heart failure or renal diseases, but also useful in identifying cardiac dysfunction in renal diseases and renal injury in heart failure. Thus, they may be applied in order to identify patients with CRS and even assess prognosis and guide therapy in these patients. However, studies on biomarkers have just begun in CRS. Future studies are essential to observe current biomarkers and find novel biomarkers in CRS so as to improve diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis of CRS.