The association of aortic elasticity properties with novel inflammatory marker CRP /albumin ratio

Objective Hypertension (HT) is the most important preventable cause of cardiovascular disease and mortality. Aortic elasticity parameters are affected in HT, and inflammation plays a central role in the development of HT. C-reactive protein (CRP) to albumin ratio (CAR) is a novel inflammatory marker. We aimed to evaluate the association of aortic elasticity properties with CAR. Methods A total of newly diagnosed untreated 101 hypertensive patients and 98 control participants were included to study. Clinical, demographic parameters, and blood sample parameters were recorded. Aortic strain, aortic stiffness index (ASI), and aortic distensibility (AoD) as aortic elasticity parameters were obtained from transthoracic echocardiography. Results CRP, CAR, ASI were significantly higher in hypertensive patients. (6.32 ± 2.48 vs 8.41 ± 3.35, p:<0.001; 0.158 ± 0.065 vs. 0.204 ± 0.083, p: <0.001; 6.73 ± 1.00 vs. 10.93 ± 1.81, p: <0.001, respectively) Aortic strain and AoD levels were significantly lower in hypertensive patients. (6.75 ± 2.17 vs 7.98 ± 2.27; p: <0.001 vs. 3.05 ± 0.97 vs 5.16 ± 1.01; p: <0.001, respectively) Conclusion CAR a novel inflammatory marker, which can be obtained from blood samples without additional time and cost, can be useful to predict aortic elasticity properties of hypertensive patients in daily clinical practice

Red blood cell distribution width as a predictor of long-term mortality in patients with carbon monoxide poisoning

Objectives: Elevated red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is an independent prognostic factor for cardiovascular events that are major causes of mortality in patients with carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Due to the limited number of studies, we aimed to investigate the relationship between RDW levels and long-term mortality for these patients. Method: This retrospective study included patients with CO poisoning, who presented to the emergency department. Baseline characteristics, laboratory results and survival status were retrieved from patients' hospital records. The severity of poisoning was determined according to COHb level and/or clinical signs and symptoms. Results: The study included 571 patients (median age was 37.0 years) and less than half of these patients were male (n = 206, 36.1%). There were mild-moderate CO poisoning in 389 (68.1%) patients and severe poisoning in 182 (31.9%). At a median follow-up of 6.2 years, there were 33 deaths (5.8%). Univariate cox-regression analysis demonstrated that age, gender, presence of hypertension or diabetes mellitus, levels of hemoglobin, RDW, creatinine and alanine-aminotransferase, and white-blood-cell count were potential covariates of long-term all-cause mortality. In the multivariate analysis, the median age and RDW level remained independent predictors of mortality (age, Odds ratio [OR]: 1.070 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.030–1.110, p = 0.001; RDW, OR: 1.221 95% CI: 1.042–1.431, p = 0.013). Patients with higher RDW levels had a significantly worse prognosis in terms of mortality than with lower RDW levels (log-rank test, p = 0.003). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that RDW level is an independent predictor of long-term mortality in patients with CO poisoning. Keywords: Carbon monoxide poisoning, Red blood cell distribution width, Long-term mortalit