Diagnostic value of SCUBE-1 levels in patients with chest pain

Objective: Early diagnosis is very important in terms of mortality and morbidity in patients with chest pain. Biochemical parameters such as troponin and CK-MB are currently used in the diagnosis of ACS. However, because of problems with both specificity and sensitivity, and also delays in reaching detectable levels in the blood, new and more practical biochemical parameters are needed. Several novel biochemical parameters have been evaluated for that purpose in the literature. One such parameter is signal peptide-CUB (complement C1r/C1s, Uegf, and Bmp1)-EGF (epidermal growth factor)-like domain-containing protein (SCUBE1). The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic value of SCUBE1 with biochemical parameters already in use in patients presenting to the emergency department with chest pain.Method: This was a prospective, single-center, clinical study intended to compare the diagnostic value of SCUBE-1 and troponin T in patients with chest pain. Karadeniz Technical University Faculty of Medical Local Ethical Committee approval for the study was obtained on 15 June, 2011. Following that approval, patients applying to the Karadeniz Technical University Faculty of Medicine Adult Emergency Department over 5 months were consecutively enrolled. The 78 cases comprising our study group were divided into groups on the basis of ECG findings and definitive diagnoses. Thirty cases comprised the control group. These groups? troponin and SCUBE1 levels were compared at the end of the study.Results: The study involved 78 patients (age 54.36±14.03, 69 male, 9 female) presenting to our emergency department with typical or atypical chest pain. On the basis of ECG findings, STEMI was present in 17 patients and NSTEMI/UAP in 22, while nonspecific ECG findings were present in 839 patients. HT (59%) and cigarette consumption (62%) predominated over other risk factors. Troponin values rose after the 6th hour in the STEMI and NSTEMI groups, while, in contrast, SCUBE levels exhibited a tendency to decline in the ACS subgroups. Patients? SCUBE values at the 6th and 12 hours were compared with those of the control group. No statistically significant difference was determined.Conclusion: According to our findings, SCUBE1 cannot be used, like troponin-T and CK-MB, as assistant diagnostic tools in ACS. There is a need for novel markers that can be detected in early situations when cardiac markers are not elevated, particularly in cases of ACS.?