quantitative crp value in assessing myocardial infarction of unstable angina patients

introduction: several studies have shown the independent association of high plasma c - reactive protein (crp) levels with adverse prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction (mi). the aim of this study was to assess the prognostic value of quantitative crp (q-crp) to predict mi in patients with unstable angina. materials & methods: this cohort study was carried out between december 2003 & june 2004 in tehran heart centre. 121 patients with unstable angina were selected. q-crp of these patients was measured and10 mg/l considered as a cut-off point value for q-crp. patients divided into two groups according to their q-crp cut-off value. group a with q-crp≥10 mg/l (n= 68) and group b with q-crp<10 mg/l (n= 53). all patients were monitored for development of mi during the period of hospitalisation. the results were analysed to find out predictive value of q-crp in mi prognosis. results: the mean age of patients was 60±7 year, 72 (59.5%) male and 49 (40.5%) female.  mean crp value of participants was 14.42±7/3 (4-60 mg/l). mi was developed in four (5.8 %) patients in group a and in one (1.8 %) patient in group b. there was no significant correlation between q-crp level and mi development (p>0.38). the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of q-crp in this study was 98.3%, 58.5%, 80% and 19.5% respectively. conclusion: although there was no significant correlation between q-crp level and mi development, in area with limited facilities, q-crp can be used for categorization of subjects with high and low risk of mi in unstable angina patients.