Diagnostic and Prognostic Values of Soluble Suppression of Tumorigenicity-2 Measurements in the Treatment Assessment of Adult Patients with Congenital Heart Disease and Cardiac Failure

Background:
The standard heart failure treatment in adult patients with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is a challenging issue. Biomarkers, such as N-Terminal pro-B-type Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP), have been used, but soluble Suppression of Tumorigenicity-2 (sST2) has been able to bring prognostic value in patients with acute and chronic left heart failure.
Objectives:
The present study sought to evaluate the predictive value of sST2 and NT-proBNP measurements in the assessment of the efficacy of treatment of adult patients with symptomatic CHD.
Methods:
This case series was conducted using a before/after design on 80 consecutive adult patients with CHD who had never received treatment for symptomatic heart failure (New York Heart Association functional classes II, III). sST2 levels were measured before and six months after the standard drug regimen of cardiac dysfunction according to the American guidelines in order to assess the efficacy of the standard treatment on sST2. Cardiac function was assessed via echocardiography and functional capacity via the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and direct inquiry from the patients before and six months after the treatment. The data were entered into the SPSS 22 software and were analyzed using paired t-test, Wilcoxon, and chi-square test.
Results:
The mean age of the patients was 32 years. At the six-month follow-up, functional capacity showed a significant improvement based on the mean 6MWT compared to the pre-treatment state (P < 0.001). In addition, the standard treatment significantly decreased the sST2 level compared to the pre-treatment value (P < 0.001).
Conclusions:
The measurement of biomarkers could help assess the efficacy of the treatment of adult patients with CHD and symptomatic heart failure.