Objective: To assess the value of an improved ischemia modified albumin (IMA) assay in the diagnosis of early acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
Methods: Forty-three patients with AMI were enrolled in this study with 41 patients with chest pain serving as the control. Blood samples were obtained from all the patients within 6 h after the onset. IMA was measured by the albumin cobalt binding test and results were presented by absorbance units (ABSU). Receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to evaluate the optimal cut-off value of the assay.
Results: The mean absorbance in AMI group was obviously higher than that in the control group (1.195-/+0.320 vs 0.855-/+0.068, P<0.001). The area under the receiver of ROC curve was 0.947, and at the cut-off value of 0.906 ABSU, the sensitivity and specificity of the assay were 93.0% and 82.9%, respectively.
Conclusion: The improved IMA assay shows good value in early diagnosis of AMI in patients with acute chest pain.