High sensitivity C-reactive protein and outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention in contemporary practice.

BACKGROUND High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) has been identified as a predictor of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Whether hsCRP is a useful biomarker for risk stratification in contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention remains unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS We conducted a prospective study among 513 patients undergoing non-emergency percutaneous coronary intervention and examined the relationship between pre- and postprocedural hsCRP levels and outcomes. The patients were divided according to the median preprocedural hsCRP level (0.3 mg/dL). Patients with high hsCRP had significantly more adverse clinical characteristics. Preprocedural hsCRP level was an independent predictor of periprocedural myocardial infarction (odds ratio per doubling of hsCRP 1.15 [95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.31]; P=0.038). Unadjusted mortality (29.7% versus 9.9%; P<0.001) and the combined end point of death or myocardial infarction (36.5% versus 16.0%, P<0.001) during a follow-up of 5 years were markedly greater in patients with high preprocedural hsCRP. Similar relationships existed for postprocedural hsCRP. However, after multivariable adjustment, neither preprocedural hsCRP levels (hazard ratio per doubling 0.96 [0.92, 1.00]; P=0.066) nor postprocedural hsCRP levels (hazard ratio 0.98 [0.94, 1.02]; P=0.27) were significantly associated with mortality. CONCLUSIONS High hsCRP is associated with a greater independent risk of periprocedural myocardial infarction, as defined by the universal definition, but is not an independent determinant of mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention. Our findings suggest that routine measurement of hsCRP in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention in contemporary practice is unlikely to be beneficial.