INTRODUCTION: This study aims to assess the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) after coronary stenting and evaluate the effect of different stent numbers (1, 2, and ≥3 stents) on hs-CRP levels.
METHODS: Our study included 87 patients diagnosed with stable CAD who underwent coronary angiography and had >70% stenosis in the coronary arteries and underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The study group was divided into three based on the number of treated lesions. Patients treated for only one lesion were grouped as Group-1, those treated for 2 lesions were Group-2, and those treated for 3 or more lesions were Group-3. The change in hs-CRP was defined as the difference between pre- and post-PCI hs-CRP levels.
RESULTS: A total of 87 patients were included in the study (mean age 59±10 years and 81.6% were male). For the first group, the pre-PCI hs-CRP was 1.13 mg/dL ± 1.94 mg/dL, and the post-PCI hs-CRP was 1.68 mg/dL ±1.70 mg/dL (p<0.05). For the second group, the pre-PCI hs-CRP was 0.60 mg/dL ±0.80 mg/dL and the post-PCI hs-CRP was 1.49 mg/dL ±2.24 mg/dL (p<0.05). For the third group, the pre-PCI hs-CRP was 1.08 mg/dL ±1.31 mg/dL and the post-PCI hs-CRP was 2.35 mg/dL ±2.57 mg/dL (p<0.05). However, the differences between pre- and post-PCI hs-CRP levels among the groups were estimated as 0.55 mg/dL ±1.81 mg/dL, 0.82 mg/dL ±0.82 mg/dL, and 1.27 mg/dL ±1.86 mg/dL, but these differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In this study, we demonstrated that there was a significant increase in post-procedure hs-CRP levels. However, this was not related to the number of implanted stents.