Evaluation of Cardiac Biomarkers in Dengue Myocarditis in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Eastern India

Abstract

Introduction: Dengue, a vector borne viral infection transmitted by Aedes mosquito has recently become a major public health concern in the tropical regions of the world. In addition to the two major life threatening complications- Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF) and Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS), a variety of cardiac complications have been recognised, the most common being myocarditis. Aim: To study and compare the quantity of different cardiac biomarkers in patients of Dengue Fever with and without myocarditis. Materials and Methods: This was a hospital-based retrospective observational study done in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India from June 2019 to November 2019. Dengue patients with diagnosed myocarditis on day 7 of fever based on electro and echocardiogram changes of left ventricular ejection fraction less than 50% were considered as cases (n=41). Age and sex matched dengue patients with normal electro and echocardiogram changes were considered as control (n=43). After obtaining Institutional Ethics Committee Clearance, laboratory data were collected from samples coded and assayed for markers of acute cardiac myocyte damage such as total Creatine Kinase (CK), CK-Muscle Brain (CK-MB), Troponin T (Trop T) and cardiac failure biomarker N-Terminal pro Brain Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP). Statistical analysis of the data was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20). Results: Cardiac biomarkers CK, CK-MB, Trop T and NT-proBNP levels in cases were higher compared to controls (p-value <0.05). Trop T and NT-proBNP were positively correlated to each other (r-value: 0.44). Trop T changes could also predict significantly the rise in NT-proBNP in circulation (p<0.05). Conclusion: It reconfirmed the need of routine monitoring of cardiac biomarkers in conjunction with other cardiac function tests in early diagnosis and or management of myocarditis, a severe complication of Dengue Viral Infection (DENV).