Background: Urinary β2 microglobulin (U-β2MG) is a more sensitive and accurate marker of tubulointerstitial damage. The etiology of glomerular damage is related to the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with myocardial infarction (MI); however, the prognostic importance of tubulointerstitial damage in patients with ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI) has not been established. The aim of this study was to elucidate whether renal tubulointerstitial damage is associated with the occurrence of MACE in patients after STEMI undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.
Methods and results: The degree of renal tubulointerstitial damage was evaluated by measuring the U-β2MG level in 89 consecutive STEMI patients. There were 22 MACEs during the follow-up period. Patients with MACE had higher U-β2MG levels than those without MACE, and the U-β2MG level was an independent predictor for MACE. A Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the group with higher U-β2MG levels corrected for urinary creatinine was associated with a greater risk for MACE.
Conclusions: An elevated U-β2MG level was associated with the occurrence of MACE in STEMI patients who underwent PCI. Renal tubulointerstitial damage is therefore considered to be associated with the occurrence of MACE.