Effect of combined testing of ceramides with high-sensitive troponin T on the detection of acute coronary syndrome in patients with chest pain in China: a prospective observational study

Ceramides are associated with coronary plaque vulnerability. We aim to investigate the potential diagnostic value of ceramides for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in Chinese patients with chest pain. Prospective observational survey. Shanghai, China, 2016-2017. A total of 2773 patients with chest pain from four hospitals in Shanghai, China, between August 2016 and October 2017. Performance of metabolites model in detection of ACS cases including ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non-STEMI (NSTEMI) and unstable angina. Plasma levels of 12 ceramide molecules and corresponding ratios were compared between patients diagnosed with ACS and those without. Cer(d18:1/24:1(15Z))/Cer(d18:1/24:0) ratio, Cer(d18:1/14:0) and Cer(d18:1/22:0) were independent predictors of ACS after adjustment of traditional risk factors and high-sensitivecardiac troponin T. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed a significant improvement in detecting ACS in the multivariable model with ceramides compared with that without (0.865 (0.840 to 0.889) vs 0.808 (0.776 to 0.841), p<0.001). Distinct plasma ceramides are independent diagnostic predictors of ACS among patients with chest pain. Ceramides together with high-sensitive troponin and traditional factors showed great potential in identifying ACS among patients with chest pain.