Diagnostic utility of heart-type fatty-acid–binding protein and troponin-t for short-term outcomes in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass graft-a pilot study

Introduction: Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) rem-ains the preferred strategy for coronary revascularization. Over the last decade, with an increased number of high-risk patients, the operative risk has increased, resulting in adverse clinical outcomes. This study was designed to assess the early postoperative utility of Heart-Type Fatty-Acid–Binding Protein (h-FABP) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) as markers for short-term outcomes in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass graft. Methods: This case study was conducted on 59 patients who underwent off-pump coronary artery bypass graft. The patients were divided into group 1-with adverse outcomes (n = 22) and group 2-with favorable outcomes (n = 37) after CABG. Serum levels of h-FABP and cTnT were estimated by ELISA. The results were compared, and diagnostic utility was assessed. The predictive ability of two markers for adverse outcomes was adjusted with other factors. Results: Group 1 showed significantly (p = 0.04) higher postoperative serum troponin T values with a marginal (p = 0.14) increase in h-FABP levels. There was a strong correlation between troponin T and h-FABP (r = 0.61, p = 0.002 and r = 0.64, p = 0.001) in groups 1 and 2, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of h-FABP (AUC = 0.6) and cTnT (AUC = 0.55) for the assessment of adverse outcomes were 54.5%, 65% and 50%, 70.3%, respectively. Conclusion: Early postoperative h-FABP in CABG patients may not be a reliable parameter in assessing short-term outcomes. Further studies with large sample size may be necessary to validate its diagnostic performance.