Troponin elevation predicts critical care needs and in-hospital mortality after thrombolysis in white but not black stroke patients.

INTRODUCTION: Stroke patients undergoing intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) are at increased risk for critical care interventions and mortality. Cardiac troponin elevation is common in stroke patients; however, its prognostic significance is unclear. The present study evaluates troponin elevation as a predictor of critical care needs and mortality in post-IVT patients and describes racial differences in its predictive accuracy.

METHODS: Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis were used to determine racial differences in the predictive accuracy of troponin elevation for critical care needs and mortality in post-IVT patients.

RESULTS: Troponin elevation predicted critical care needs in white (odds ratio [OR] 29.40, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.86-177.81) but not black patients (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.14-1.78; P value for interaction < .001). Adding troponin elevation to a prediction model for critical care needs in whites improved the area under the curve from 0.670 to 0.844 (P = .006); however, addition of troponin elevation did not improve the model in blacks (area under the curve 0.843 vs 0.851, P = .54). Troponin elevation was associated with in-hospital mortality in whites (OR 21.94, 95% CI 3.51-137.11) but not blacks (OR 1.10, 95% CI 0.19-6.32, P value for interaction .022).

CONCLUSION: Troponin is a useful predictor of poor outcome in white but not black post-IVT stroke patients.