ACUTE coronary syndrome (ACS) is a life-threatening condition. Diagnosis and follow up depend on clinical examination, electrocardiogram (ECG), positron emission tomography (PET) and biochemical markers. Troponin is significantly used in the diagnosis and prognosis of ACS, however, its increase in absence of ACS prompts an evaluation for an alternative.CXCL16, an interferon γ regulated chemokine, in addition to the fact that it is expressed in atherosclerotic lesion. C-Reactive Protein (CRP) is up regulated in atheromatous plaque. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the importance of measurement of CRP and CXCL16 together with other biochemical markers of myocardial injury in the diagnosis and follow up of ACS.
The study included 90 participants, 60 patients of ACS (30 unstable angina and 30 myocardial infarction) and 30 healthy age and sex-matched participants who formed the control group.All patients and controls underwent the following laboratory investigations: Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatine kinase muscle band (CK MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), troponin and CXCL16 by ELISA and CRP by Nephelometry. The mean values of CXCL16, CRP, AST, CK MB, LDH were highly elevated in ACS, while troponindid not significantly elevated in unstable angina patients compared to the controls. A significant positive correlation was found between CXCL16 and both CRP (r2= 0.89) and troponin (r2= 0.93) in myocardial infarction patients. It is concluded that CRP, and CXCL16 may be additional tools for the diagnosis and prognosis of ACS besides other biochemical markers.