Is periprocedural CK-MB a better indicator of prognosis after emergency and elective percutaneous coronary intervention compared with post-procedural cardiac troponins?

A best evidence topic in interventional cardiac surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question we addressed related to the elevation of markers of cardiac damage associated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We explored and compared the clinical and prognostic relevance of the elevation of creatinine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB) and cardiac troponin (cTn) levels during the periprocedural period and the post-procedural period, respectively, following an emergency or elective PCI. We found in excess of 390 papers after a systematic literature search, of which 10 represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The authors, journal, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes and results of these papers are tabulated. From the best evidence available it appears that the monitoring of cardiac biomarkers following a PCI can provide important clinical information about the health of the myocardium, as well as prognostic information on short to mid-term outcomes of mortality up to 3 years. The narrow evidence base advocates the use of periprocedural CK-MB monitoring, recommending that an elevation in CK-MB is a significant predictor of adverse events. Troponins remain a precise and reliable marker of cardiac damage; however, current evidence argues that cTn holds little prognostic relevance until the degree of elevation is almost five times the upper limit of normal (ULN). Thus, the best evidence recommends the use of periprocedural CK-MB routinely during PCI to provide clinical and prognostic information about the degree of myocardial injury and risk of post-procedural morbidity and mortality.