The Journal of Practical Medicine ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (18): 3263-3269.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1006-5725.2026.18.004

• Oncology: Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention • Previous Articles    

Association between preoperative cardiology consultation and prognosis in gastrointestinal cancer surgery patients with elevated high-sensitivity troponin I

Qinglang Li1,2, Yitao Zhang1,2, Shiyao Cheng1,2, Weijie Zeng1,2, Mao Ouyang1,2()   

  1. 1. Department of Cardiology,the Sixth Affiliated Hospital,Sun Yat?sen University,Guangzhou 510655,Guangdong,China
    2. Guangzhou (Huangpu) Zhongliu Biomedical Innovation Center,Guangzhou 510000,Guangdong,China
  • Received:2026-07-16 Revised:2026-08-11 Accepted:2026-08-17 Online:2026-09-25 Published:2026-10-19
  • Contact: Mao Ouyang
  • About author:

    Li Qinglang, Zhang Yitao, Zeng Weijie and Ouyang Mao contributed to the conception and design of this manuscript. Li Qinglang, Zhang Yitao, Cheng Shiyao and Zeng Weijie acquired data. Li Qinglang, Zhang Yitao and Zeng Weijie performed statistical analyses, interpreted the data, and drafted the manuscript. All authors contributed to the critical revision and final approval of this manuscript.

Abstract:

Objective This study aims to investigate whether preoperative cardiology consultation is associated with a reduced risk of perioperative cardiovascular events among patients scheduled for gastrointestinal tumor resection who present with elevated preoperative high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) in the absence of detectable myocardial ischemia. Methods We retrospectively enrolled 93 consecutive patients hospitalized with gastrointestinal tumors who had a preoperative hs-cTnI level > 0.028 ng/mL and no evidence of myocardial ischemia. Among these patients, 8 were recommended to delay surgery following cardiology consultation. Ultimately, the remaining 85 patients who underwent surgery were included in the outcome analysis. We compared the incidence of perioperative cardiovascular events (including death, acute myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, ventricular fibrillation, atrial fibrillation, and acute decompensated heart failure), the requirement for intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and the length of hospital stay between the cardiology consultation group and the non-consultation group. Results Patients who underwent preoperative cardiology consultation exhibited a higher proportion of individuals with a Lee index ≥ 2, elevated hs-cTnI levels, and impaired cardiac structure and function. Following consultation, surgery was deferred for 8 patients. After excluding all patients with deferred surgery, the consultation group and non-consultation group still differed significantly in the proportion of participants with a Lee index ≥ 2 and LVEF values, while no significant between-group differences were observed in perioperative cardiovascular events, ICU management indicators, or length of hospital stay. Univariate logistic regression analysis identified that reduced LVEF was significantly associated with the occurrence of perioperative cardiovascular events. Conclusions Among patients with preoperatively elevated hs-cTnI without myocardial ischemia undergoing gastrointestinal tumor surgery, although the cardiology consultation cohort presented higher baseline cardiovascular risk and accordingly higher expected perioperative risk, the observed perioperative cardiovascular risk in this cohort was not significantly higher than that of the non-consultation cohort. This finding indicates that preoperative cardiology consultation may offset the expected excess risk in high-risk patients, which demonstrates its potential clinical value for preoperative risk stratification and management.

Key words: high?sensitivity cardiac troponin I, cardiology consultation, gastrointestinal tumors, surgery, Lee index

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