title: The association of serum albumin with coronary slow flow.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A number of inflammatory markers such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and fibrinogen have been shown to be associated with coronary slow flow (CSF). Our aim was to investigate the relationship between albumin, a long-acting negative acute-phase protein, and CSF.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 106 patients with angiographically proven slow coronary flow and 57 control subjects with normal coronary flow were included in the study. Serum levels of Hs-CRP and albumin were measured. CSF was defined by Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) frame count (TFC) method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum albumin (s-albumin) was significantly lower in the CSF group (3.79 ± 0.3 vs 4.17 ± 0.3, p < 0.001), whereas Hs-CRP level was significantly higher in the CSF group compared with the controls (1.22 ± 0.79 vs 0.76 ± 0.44, p < 0.001). S-albumin and Hs-CRP were correlated with the mean TFC in the whole study population (r= - 0.574, p < 0.001; r = 0.376, p < 0.001, respectively). Hs-CRP and low s-albumin were found to be significant predictors of CSF in the multivariate analysis. The comparison of receiver-operating characteristics curves for s-albumin and Hs-CRP demonstrated that s-albumin was the strongest predictor of CSF.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found that s-albumin levels decreased and Hs-CRP levels increased in patients with CSF. S-albumin was also found to have superior predictive value than Hs-CRP for diagnosing CSF. S-albumin, an inexpensive and easily measurable laboratory variable, may be a useful predictor of CSF, especially when other reasons which alter its serum levels were excluded.
authors: School of Medicine, Department of Cardiology, Adiyaman University, Kahta Street, 02000, Adiyaman, Turkey, drmcetin@gmail.com.
authors: Mustafa
authors: M
authors: Cetin
authors: Cemil
authors: C
authors: Zencir
authors: Hakan
authors: H
authors: Tasolar
authors: Erkan
authors: E
authors: Baysal
authors: Mehmet
authors: M
authors: Balli
authors: Erdal
authors: E
authors: Akturk
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000032:analysis*; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D012709:Serum Albumin; D002097:C-Reactive Protein