Identification of plaque ruptures using a novel discriminative model comprising biomarkers in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Soluble lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (sLOX-1), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) are inflammatory biomarkers involved in plaque destabilization resulting in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of a combination of biomarkers to discriminate plaque ruptures in the setting of ACS. Eighty-five ACS patients with optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of the culprit plaque were included and categorized into two groups: ACS with plaque rupture (Rupture group, n = 42) or without plaque rupture (Non-rupture group, n = 43) verified by OCT. A discriminative model of plaque rupture using several biomarkers was developed and validated. The Rupture group had higher white blood cell (WBC) counts and peak creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB) levels (13.39 vs. 2.69 ng/mL, p = 0.0016). sLOX-1 (227.9 vs. 51.7 pg/mL, p