Clinical utility of C-reactive protein measured at admission, hospital discharge, and 1 month later to predict outcome in patients with acute coronary disease. The RISCA (recurrence and inflammation in the acute coronary syndromes) study.
OBJECTIVE
This study was designed to prospectively determine, in patients with an acute coronary syndrome, whether the inflammatory marker, C-reactive protein (CRP), measured at hospital admission, discharge, and 1 month later has incremental value to predict outcomes at 1 year.


BACKGROUND
The clinical utility of CRP measurements in patients with acute coronary syndromes remains uncertain. Limitations of previous studies have been retrospective design and incomplete adjustment for readily available clinical prognosticators.


METHODS
The CRP marker was measured at admission, hospital discharge, and 1 month later in consecutive patients hospitalized for acute coronary syndromes in 8 tertiary and secondary hospitals. The primary outcome was a composite of death, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), and unstable angina (UA) with electrocardiogram (ECG) changes at 1 year.


RESULTS
A total of 1,210 patients, age 62 +/- 12 years, 64% with acute myocardial infarction (MI) and 36% with unstable angina (UA), were recruited. At 1 year, the primary outcome occurred in 142 patients (11.7%) and included 58 deaths (4.8%), 79 nonfatal MIs (6.5%), and 26 UA episodes with ECG changes (2.1%). The unadjusted odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence intervals) of CRP values at admission, hospital discharge, and 1 month later for the occurrence of the primary outcome were 1.20 (1.06 to 1.36), 0.98 (0.85 to 1.14), and 1.23 (1.00 to 1.50), respectively. After multivariate adjustment, ORs were 1.04 (0.91 to 1.20), 0.90 (0.77 to 1.06), and 1.12 (0.93 to 1.34), respectively. The individual components of the primary outcome were also not independently associated with any of the 3 CRP measurements.


CONCLUSIONS
The modest predictive ability of CRP following admission for an acute coronary syndrome disappeared after adjusting for common clinical variables. This large prospective study does not support the incremental value of measuring CRP in this clinical setting.
Bogaty
Peter
P
Quebec Heart Institute/Laval Hospital, Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. peter.bogaty@med.ulaval.ca
Boyer
Luce
L
Simard
Serge
S
Dauwe
Franz
F
Dupuis
Robert
R
Verret
Benoît
B
Huynh
Thao
T
Bertrand
Fernand
F
Dagenais
Gilles R
GR
Brophy
James M
JM
D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein