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. 2012 Nov;15(5):871-7.
doi: 10.1093/icvts/ivs331. Epub 2012 Jul 27.

C-reactive protein/interleukin-6 ratio as marker of the size of the uncomplicated thoracic aortic aneurysms

Panagiotis Artemiou  1 , Nicholas Charokopos, Efthymia Rouska, Frantisek Sabol, Ioannis Chrysogonidis, Vasiliki Tsavdaridou, Giannis Paschalidis
Affiliations

C-reactive protein/interleukin-6 ratio as marker of the size of the uncomplicated thoracic aortic aneurysms

Panagiotis Artemiou et al. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2012 Nov.

Abstract

Objectives: The role of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as markers in the prognosis of asymptomatic thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) patients has not been well established. As such, we evaluated a group of patients for a possible association between serum CRP and IL-6 and aneurysm dimension.

Methods: Serum CRP and IL-6 were determined and aneurysmal size was measured in 26 patients with TAA.

Results: The mean (SD) CRP and IL-6 were 0.58 (1.07) and 7.47 (17.78) pg/ml, respectively. Serum CRP, IL-6 and the ratio CRP/IL-6 correlated with the descending aortic aneurysmal dimension (r = 0.426, r = 0.743 and r = 0.328, respectively). A significant correlation was also found between values of the ratio above 0.8 and aneurysmal dimension (both ascending and descending aneurysms) (r = 0.785). Additionally, a significant association between smoking, age group above 69 years and dyslipidemia and aneurysm dimension was established (P = 0.002, P = 0.061 and P = 0.070, respectively).

Conclusions: This report shows that serum CRP, IL-6 levels and the ratio CRP/IL-6 are associated with descending aortic aneurysmal dimensions. Also values of the ratio CRP/IL-6 above 0.8 are associated with aneurysmal dimensions for both ascending and descending aortic aneurysms. It is still early to establish the clinical significance of those findings, and further studies with larger groups of patients with longer follow-up are required in order to truly assess the usefulness of the serum CRP and IL-6 as markers in relation to the progression of the disease.

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Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Distribution of CRP (a), IL-6 (b) and the ratio CRP/IL-6 (c).
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
First (a), second (b) and third (c) measurement, correlations between the variables and the aneurysmal size.
Figure 3:
Figure 3:
Correlation between aneurysmal size and the ratio of CRP/IL-6.
Figure 4:
Figure 4:
Correlation between the ascending aorta aneurysm size and the level of the serum CRP (a), IL-6 (b) and the ratio CRP/IL-6 (c).
Figure 5:
Figure 5:
Correlation between the descending aorta aneurysm size and the level of the serum CRP (a), IL-6 (b) and the ratio CRP/IL-6 (c).
Figure 6:
Figure 6:
Association of dyslipidemia (a), age group of 68–80 (b) and smoking (c) with aneurysmal size. (d: dyslipidemia; s: smoking; o: other).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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