Background: Myocardial inflammation following acute ischemic injury has been linked to poor cardiac remodeling and heart failure. Many studies have linked myeloperoxidase (MPO), a neutrophil and inflammatory marker, to cardiac inflammation in the setting of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, the prognostic role of MPO for adverse clinical outcomes in ACS patients has not been well established.
Methods: MEDLINE and Cochrane databases were searched for studies from 1975 to March 2018 that investigated the prognostic value of serum MPO in ACS patients. Studies which have dichotomized patients into a high MPO group and a low MPO group reported clinical outcomes accordingly and followed up patients for at least 30 days to be eligible for enrollment. Data were analyzed using random-effects model. Sensitivity analyses were conducted for quality control.
Results: Our meta-analysis included 13 studies with 9090 subjects and a median follow-up of 11.4 months. High MPO level significantly predicted mortality (odds ratio (OR) 2.03; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.40-2.94; P < 0.001), whereas it was not significantly predictive of major adverse cardiac events and recurrent myocardial infarction (MI) (OR 1.28; CI: 0.92-1.77, P = 0.14 and OR 1.23; CI: 0.96-1.58, P = 0.101, respectively). Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and age did not affect the prognostic value of MPO for clinical outcomes, whereas female gender and smoking status have a strong influence on the prognostic value of MPO in terms of mortality and recurrent MI (metaregression coefficient -8.616: 95% CI -14.59 to -2.633, P = 0.0048 and 4.88: 95% CI 0.756 to 9.0133, P = 0.0204, respectively).
Conclusions: Our meta-analysis suggests that high MPO levels are associated with the risk of mortality and that MPO can be incorporated in risk stratification models that guide therapy of high-risk ACS patients.