The effect of gestational age, birth weight, and disease on troponin I and creatine kinase MB in the first year of life.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the effect of gestational age and birth weight (BW) on troponin I (TnI) and creatine kinase MB fraction (CKMB) levels during the first year of life.

METHODS

Troponin I and CKMB levels were determined in infants less than 1 year of age using the Immuno I (Bayer Corp.).

RESULTS

Troponin I fractions were greatest in the preterm infant; the levels decreased significantly with increasing gestational age and BW, (p = 0.008 and p = 0.005, respectively). The CKMB levels did not exhibit a significant difference between the preterm and term infant groups when assessed for the effects of gestational age or BW (p = 0.12 vs. p = 0.35). Neither TnI nor CKMB levels were significantly different between preterm survivors and nonsurvivors (p = 0.31; p = 0.34, respectively). TnI levels were elevated in critically ill patients without documented myocardial infarction, and without a comparable rise in CKMB.

CONCLUSION

The higher TnI levels during the first 3 months of life may indicate programmed cell death, or apoptosis. This may be especially true in the preterm infant in which the greatest values were documented.