Association of Serum Pentraxin 3 and High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein with Severity of Coronary Stenosis.

Background: Atherosclerosis being the keystone in the pathology of coronary artery disease (CAD) is a chronic inflammation of arterial intima mediated by various inflammatory markers. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) are the two important biomarkers of chronic inflammation that causes atherosclerosis.

Aims: This study aims to investigate the association of serum PTX3 and hs-CRP with the severity of coronary stenosis in patients undergoing coronary angiogram.

Subjects and methods: A total of 80 patients who underwent elective coronary angiogram were included. Their blood sample was collected for PTX3 and hs-CRP estimation prior to angiogram. Based on the angiogram, the participants were divided into four groups based on the number of arteries affected. PTX3 was estimated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and hs-CRP was assayed using latex-enhanced immunosorbent assay.

Statistical analysis used: Kruskal-Wallis test was used to find the association of PTX3 and hs-CRP in each group and Pearson's correlation was used to correlate PTX3 and hs-CRP with the extent of stenosis.

Results: The mean PTX3 and hs-CRP levels in patients with some lesions in the coronary artery were 231.5 ± 129.9 pg/mL and 2.4 ± 0.4 mg/mL, respectively. The PTX3 levels elevate gradually with the severity of stenosis with P = 0.000 which is highly significant. A strong positive correlation was observed (R = 0.7929, P < 0.00001) with PTX3 and severity of stenosis. Whereas, for hs-CRP, the correlation was weaker (R = 0.3011, P = 0.006).

Conclusions: PTX3 and hs-CRP can not only predict the number of arteries affected but also can differentiate between normal coronaries and CAD which can minimize the use of angiography.