The independent prediction study of the effect of heart-type fatty acid binding protein on the severity and long-term cardiac function in Covid-19 patients.

The study was conducted to assess the predictive ability of the heart-type fatty acid binding protein (HFABP) on the severity and long-term cardiac function of Covid-19 infected persons. In the case of negative HsTn-T, we determined whether HFABP was related to the severity of Covid-19 or it was the long-term impact of cardiac function. Chi-square test and t-test were used to evaluate whether HFABP level was an independent predictor of myocardial injury and whether it was related to the severity of Covid-19 and the long-term impact of cardiac function. Among the 20 patients in each of the two groups (mild and severe), 27.5% of all had elevated HFABP. Two were HFABP positive in the mild group, and nine were HFABP positive in the severe group, with a significant difference between the two groups (P=0.013). The mean serum level of HFABP in the mild group was 3.96 ±1.80, compared with 6.70±3.77 in the severe group, with a significant difference between the two groups (P=0.003). In addition, after two years of follow-up, there was a statistically significant difference in the changes of cardiac function between the HFABP-positive group and the HFABP-negative group (P=0.037). These data indicate that among HsTn-T-negative Covid-19 patients, HFABP is a more sensitive and independent predictor of myocardial damage, and it is useful for distinguishing mild and severe Covid-19. The level of HFABP has a significant effect on the long-term changes of heart function in Covid-19 patients.