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BACKGROUND:

To evaluate the role of routine troponin surveillance in patients undergoing major noncardiac surgery, unblinded screening with cardiac consultation per protocol was implemented at a tertiary care center. In this study, we evaluated 1-year mortality, causes of death, and consequences of cardiac consultation of this protocol.

METHODS:

This observational cohort included 3224 patients≥ 60 years old undergoing major noncardiac surgery. Troponin I was measured routinely on the first 3 postoperative days. Myocardial injury was defined as troponin I> 0.06 μg/L. Regression analysis was used to determine the association between myocardial injury and 1-year mortality. The causes of death, the diagnoses of the cardiologists, and interventions were determined for different levels of troponin elevation.

RESULTS:

Postoperative myocardial injury was detected in 715 patients (22%) and was associated with …