Diagnostic and prognostic value of H-FABP in acute coronary syndrome: Still evidence to bring.

Abstract

The assessment of chest pain patients presenting to the emergency area (EA) is still a clinical challenge, as the majority of patients are not diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). New generation high sensitivity c-Tn (hs-cTn) assays have showed better performances compared to the standard c-Tn. However, hs-Tn still presents some limitations. Hence, novel, early biomarkers are needed in this setting. Among all, heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) has been largely investigated. This article reviews the studies evaluating H-FABP performance in diagnosing acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stratifying chest pain patients by risk. H-FABP optimal performances in ACS have been reported by studies that used low threshold for positivity, or compared the biomarker to cTn at 3-6 h, or by studies with small sample size. Literature review allows stating that H-FABP is clearly not a reliable marker in ACS, as it is unable to diagnose AMI, neither as a stand-alone test nor combined with hs-cTn. Few evidence supports its incremental value in ruling-out AMI and its risk stratification ability for chest pain patients presenting to EA. Thus, available data may not encourage going on investigating.

• Authors: Giulia Bivona, Luisa Agnello, Chiara Bellia, Bruna Lo Sasso, Marcello Ciaccio
• Journal: Clinical biochemistry (Clin Biochem) Vol. 58 Pg. 1-4 (Aug 2018) ISSN: 1873-2933 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 29698621 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Chemical References

• Biomarkers
• FABP3 protein, human
• Fatty Acid Binding Protein 3
• Troponin C

Topics

• Acute Coronary Syndrome (blood, diagnosis)
• Animals
• Biomarkers (blood)
• Fatty Acid Binding Protein 3 (blood)
• Humans
• Predictive Value of Tests
• Troponin C (blood)