Peri-Procedural Troponin Elevation after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Left Main Coronary Artery Disease

Left main (LM) percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) are challenging and highly invasive procedures. Periprocedural myocardial injury (Troponin (Tn) elevation > 99th percentile) is frequently detected after LM PCI, being identified even in up to 67% of patients. However, the prognostic implications of periprocedural Tn elevation after LM PCI remain controversial. We aim to assess the impact and prognostic significance of the periprocedural troponin elevation on long-term outcomes in patients undergoing LM PCI in a real-world setting. Consecutive 673 patients who underwent LM PCI in our department between January 2015 to February 2021 were included in a prospective registry. The first group consisted of 323 patients with major cardiac Troponin I elevation defined as an elevation of Tn values > 5× the 99th percentile in patients with normal baseline values or post-procedure Tn rise by >20% in patients with elevated pre-procedure Tn in whom the Tn level was stable or falling (based on the fourth universal definition of myocardial infarction). The second group consisted of patients without major cardiac Troponin I elevation. Seven-year long-term all-cause mortality was not higher in the group with major Tn elevation (36.9% vs. 40.6%; p = 0.818). Naturally, periprocedural myocardial infarction was diagnosed only in patients from groups with major Tn elevation (4.9% of all patients). In-hospital death and other periprocedural complications did not differ significantly between the two study groups. The adjusted HRs for mortality post-PCI in patients with a periprocedural myocardial infarction were not significant. Long-term mortality subanalysis for the group with criteria for cardiac procedural myocardial injury showed no significant differences (39.5% vs. 38.8%; p = 0.997). The occurrence of Tn elevation (>1×; >5×; >35× and >70× URL) after LM PCI was not associated with adverse long-term outcomes. The results of the study suggest that the isolated periprocedural troponin elevation is not clinically significant.