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In a 2014 study, investigators showed that even modestly elevated non–high-sensitivity troponin T levels during the 3 days after noncardiac surgery were associated independently with excess 30-day mortality (NEJM JW Gen Med Apr 1 2014 and Anesthesiology 2014; 120:564). Now, this team has performed a similar multicenter study using a high-sensitivity troponin T (hsTnT) assay in nearly 22,000 patients (age, ≥45) undergoing inpatient noncardiac surgery with general or regional anesthesia. Patients' hsTnT levels were measured 6 to 12 hours after surgery, and daily for 3 days; the manufacturer considers levels ≥14 ng/L as abnormal (note: units for hsTnT are ng/L; units for non–high-sensitivity TnT are usually ng/mL).
Overall, 1.2% of patients die…