Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to explore serum N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-ProBNP) and troponin I (TnI) level changes in patients with liver cirrhosis for early diagnosis of cirrhotic cardiomyopathy (CCM). Methods 93 patients with liver cirrhosis and 49 healthy persons at physical examination were enrolled in our hospital between January 2020 and March 2023, and all underwent electrocardiography (EKG). Serum TnI level was detected by chemiluminescence immunoassay and serum NT-ProBNP level was measured by ELISA. The diagnostic performance was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) analysis. Results Out of our series, the CCM was found in 51 cases, including NYHA classⅠ in 18 cases, class Ⅱ in 20 cases and class Ⅲ in 13 cases based on cardiac Doppler ultrasonography; serum NT-ProBNP and TnI levels in patients with CCM were (41.5±7.9)pmol/L and (0.6±0.2)μg/mL, significantly higher than in cirrhotics without CCM or in healthy individuals; the abnormal EKG manifestation in patients with CCM accounted for 98.0%, much higher than 71.4% in patients with liver cirrhosis or 2.0%(P<0.05) in healthy persons; serum NT-ProBNP and TnI levels in patients with CCM class Ⅲ were (48.3±8.5)pmol/L and (0.8±0.2)pmol/L, significantly higher than in patients with CCM class Ⅱ or in patients with CCM class Ⅰ; the AUC was 0.923, with the sensitivities of 94.1% and the specificities of 78.6% when serum NT-ProBNP level equal to 40.4 pmol/L and serum TnI level equal to 0.5μg/mL were set as the cut-off-value, and with abnormal EKG combination in predicting CCM, much superior to any of the parameters did alone (P<0.05). Conclusion The elevated serum NT-ProBNP and TnI levels in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis might hint the existence of CCM, which occurs early before abnormal EKG manifestations loom.

Key words: Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, Troponin I, Electrocardiogram, Diagnosis