Abstract
The detection or measurement of human heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) and troponin T is useful for the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome. In this study, we compared the qualitative rapid H-FABP test kit Rapicheck H-FABP (Rapicheck; DS Pharma Biomedical Co., Ltd.) with the quantitative rapid H-FABP test kit Rapidchip H-FABP (Rapidchip; Sekisui Medical Co., Ltd.) and with a qualitative rapid test kit for troponin T (Trop T Sensitive; Roche Diagnostics K.K.). The characteristics of these kits were also determined. All 3 kits showed positive results in diseases such as acute myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, heart failure, aortic dissection, and takotsubo cardiomyopathy. When the results of the H-FABP and troponin T tests differed, patients were always positive for H-FABP and negative for troponin T. Some of the patients who were only positive for H-FABP were in the hyperacute phase of acute myocardial infarction, may have had elevation of H-FABP because of renal dysfunction, or else had skeletal muscle H-FABP in the blood. Two patients were negative for H-FABP using the Rapidchip test and positive using the Rapicheck test. The qualitative test is associated with the problem of individual variations due to subjective judgment. On the other hand, the Rapidchip allows the quantitative measurement of H-FABP and is free from this problem, making judgment of the results easy. Diagnostic sensitivity may be increased by using these kits in combination on the basis of the knowledge of the characteristics of each kit.
