SUBJECTS AND METHOD: We evaluated 175 consecutive patients (57.9±10.4 years, 107 male) undergoing coronary angiography. The study patients were divided into two groups; patients with ACS (n=55, 57.5±11.8 years, 37 male) and those with stable angina (n=120, 58.1±9.7 years, 70 male). Venous blood samples were take into EDTA tube and immediately sent to laboratory room for measurement of the MPC concentration using the ADVIA(R) 120 hematology system.

RESULTS: The MPC concentration was significantly decreased in those with ACS (27.3±1.2 g/dL vs. 28.6±0.9 g/dL, p=0.013) compared to those with stable angina, and also decreased in patients with unstable compared to stable angina (27.4±1.2 g/dL vs. 28.6±0.9 g/dL, p<0.001), but there was no difference in the MPC concentration between acute myocardial infarction and unstable angina (27.2±1.2 g/dL vs. 27.4±1.2 g/dL, p=0.939). An MPC concentration (28.05 g/dL demonstrated 74.5% sensitivity and 75.0% specificity in the differentiation of patients with ACS from the others in the Receiver Operating Curve analysis. The positive and negative predictive values were 51.6 and 86.5%, respectively, at that level.

CONCLUSION: Measurement of the MPC concentration may be useful in the detection of ACS. Also, a decreased MPC concentration may be a very useful marker for the differentiation of unstable and stable angina.