Background/AimsBecause of the inflammatory nature of coronary artery disease (CAD), both platelets and white blood cells have been investigated for years. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between some prominently hematologic blood count parameters (mean platelet volume [MPV], neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio [NLR]) and the severity of CAD by using Gensini scores.MethodsA total of 194 patients, who had undergone coronary angiography, enrolled in this study. The control group consisted of 42 patients who had normal coronary arteries. Remaining CAD patients were divided into two groups according to their Gensini scores.ResultsNLR and MPV were higher in the severe atherosclerosis group compared with the mild atherosclerosis group (p = 0.007, p = 0.005, respectively). The Gensini score showed significant correlations with NLR (r = 0.20, p = 0.011), MPV (r = 0.23, p = 0.004) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (r = –0.161, p = 0.047). Using a cut-off level of 2.54, NLR predicted severe atherosclerosis with a sensitivity of 74% and specificity of 53% (area under curve [AUC], 0.627; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.545 to 0.704; p = 0.004). MPV values above 10.4 predicted severe atherosclerosis with a sensitivity of 39% and specificity of 90% (AUC, 0.631; 95% CI, 0.549 to 0.708; p = 0.003). In the multiple logistic regression analysis, high levels of NLR (odds ratio [OR], 1.450; 95% CI, 1.080 to 1.945; p = 0.013) and MPV (OR, 1.622; 95% CI, 1.147 to 2.295; p = 0.006) were found to be independent predictors of severe atherosclerosis.ConclusionsOur study suggests that both NLR and MPV are predictors of severe atherosclerosis and may be used for the prediction and identification of cardiac risks in CAD patients.

This study was conducted to investigate the prophylactic effects of carnitine against contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) and its relation to oxidant/antioxidant status in kidney, liver, heart, spleen and lung tissues in a CIN rat model. Twenty-eight adult male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups, the control, contrast media (CM), carnitine and contrast media+carnitine (CM+carnitine) groups. Animals were placed in individual metabolism cages, and on the 2nd day, rats were deprived of water for 24 hr. On the 3rd day, contrast media were administered to groups CM and CM+carnitine. L-carnitine was administered on days 2, 3 and 4. Histopathological changes were evaluated in the right kidney after euthanization. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities and glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were measured in renal, liver, heart, spleen and lung tissues. The SOD activities in the renal (P<0.05), liver (P<0.001) and spleen (P<0.05) tissues were increased in the carnitine group. The CAT activities in the spleen tissue were decreased (P<0.01) only in the CM group. Renal (P<0.05), liver (P<0.001), spleen (P<0.001) and lung tissue (P<0.01) GSH levels were found to be higher in the carnitine group. In renal, liver and lung tissues, the MDA levels increased in the CM group (P<0.001). The histopathological findings showed that L-carnitine may have a preventative effect in alleviating the negative effects of CIN. Similar to this, L-carnitine may play a major role in the stability of the antioxidant status in the kidney, liver, spleen and lung of the CIN rat model.

Early and accurate risk prediction is an important clinical demand in patients with infective endocarditis (IE). The platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is an independent predictor of worse prognosis in various cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the value of PLR in the prediction of in-hospital mortality among IE patients. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic data of 59 adult patients with definite IE and in 40 adult controls. In-hospital mortality occurred in 16 (27%) patients. Vegetation size, levels of high-sensitive C-reactive protein and procalcitonin, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and PLR were significantly higher in the in-hospital-mortality-positive group than in the in-hospital-mortality-negative group (p = 0.004, p = 0.009, p = 0.030, p = 0.001, and p = 0.008, respectively). Lymphocyte count was, however, significantly lower in the in-hospital-mortality-positive group (p = 0.004). In the receiver-operating characteristic analysis, PLRs over 191.01 predicted in-hospital mortality with 56.3% sensitivity and 81.4% specificity [area under the curve 0.725, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.594-0.833; p = 0.0027]. In the multivariate analysis, PLR was found to be an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality in patients with IE (odds ratio 1.022, 95% CI 1.003-1.042; p = 0.021). In conclusion, higher PLR may predict in-hospital mortality in patients with IE.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between HATCH score and atrial fibrillation (AF) after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. 369 patients (103 patients with AF and 266 patients without AF) undergoing isolated CABG surgery were analyzed. Complete medical records were retrospectively collected to investigate HATCH score. The median age of patients with AF was significantly higher than the median age of non-AF group (60.8±10.0 years vs 67.8±9.5 years, P<0.001). HATCH score was significantly higher in patients who developed AF after CABG surgery than the non-AF group (P=0.017). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that HATCH score (OR 1.334; 95% CI 1.022 to 1.741, P=0.034) was an independent predictor of AF after CABG surgery. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the cut-off point of HATCH score related to predict AF was >1 (two or more), with a sensitivity of 42% and specificity of 70%. Patients with elevated preoperative HATCH score may have higher risk for AF after CABG surgery.

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