Cardiac Troponin Levels in Neonates Who Require ECMO for Noncardiac Indications Are Elevated in Nonsurvivors.

Objective  The aim of the study is to determine the utility of cardiac troponin (cTnI) as a marker of mortality and morbidity in newborn infants who require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Study Design  Retrospective medical chart analysis of term or near-term newborn infants treated with ECMO from 2002 to 2012 at a single Level III neonatal intensive care unit. Data analyzed included serial serum cTnI measurements, clinical and demographic characteristics, pre-ECMO laboratory values, and ECMO laboratory values and outcomes. Results  Survival (27/46) was significantly related to birth weight (3,413.9 ± 662.3 vs. 2,667.7 ± 478.3 g, p  p  = 0.0021), and the absence of a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (22/30 vs. 5/18, p  = 0.0021). Mean peak cTnI did not differ between survivors and nonsurvivors but when peak cTnI was   2.8 ng/mL ( p  = 0.0224; odds ratio = 0.160, 95% confidence interval = 0.0292–0.8778). By multivariate analysis, peak cTnI > 2.1 was a significant risk factor for nonsurvival, p  = 0.0497. The area under the curve of a receiver-operator analysis using peak cTnI > 2.1, birth weight, and birthplace was 0.89, p  Conclusion  cTnI is an independent biomarker for poor outcome in neonates who receive ECMO therapy for noncardiac generations.