Significant increases in monocyte counts and serum creatine kinase in acute myocardial infarction versus general infections.

Background: Biomarkers specificity is an important factor for their reliable utilization. Known markers for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), including creatine kinase (CK), C-reactive protein (CRP), and blood cell counts are thought to be altered in other pathologic conditions, such as infections. Aim: To compare the level of these biomarkers in AMI patients and infected controls with respect to normal subjects. Materials and Methods: We recruited 15 AMI patients, 15 patients with bacterial infections (infected control group) and 35 normal subjects. Peripheral blood samples were obtained for blood cell counts and biochemical analyses. Results: Only monocytes were significantly increased in AMI patients (0.793 × 10 9 /L) than normal controls (0.497 × 10 9 /L). Infected controls showed a significant increase in total white blood cell (11.50 × 10 9 /L versus 6.149 × 10 9 /L) and neutrophil (9.360 versus 3.223 × 10 9 /L) counts and a significant decrease in red blood cell (3.750 versus 5.105 × 10 12 /L) counts as compared with normal controls. Serum CK was significantly increased in AMI patients (313.20 ± 94.84 U/L) and decreased in infected controls (48.40 ± 10.35 U/L) as compared with normal controls (100.82 ± 8.86 U/L). The levels of CRP were significantly higher in infected controls (136.93 ± 34.83 mg/L) and nonsignificantly higher in AMI patients (38.53 ± 12.76 mg/L) than normal controls (3.48 ± 0.59 mg/L). Monocytes were significantly correlated with both CK and CRP; however, there was no correlation between CK and CRP. Conclusion: Differential trends of monocytes and CK in AMI and infective controls point toward their possible application in prognosis of AMI patients.