C-reactive Protein as a Prognostic Marker of 1-Year Mortality after Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Aortic Stenosis.

BACKGROUND: C-reactive protein (CRP) is an inflammation biomarker that can be a predictor of adverse events in cardiovascular procedures. Its use in the assessment of long-term prognosis of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is still incipient.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate CRP as a prognostic marker in the first year after TAVI in aortic stenosis (AoS).

METHODS: CRP was assessed on the first postoperative week in a retrospective cohort of patients with AoS. Pre- and post- CRP levels were correlated with mortality, and predictors of 1-year mortality were investigated. Multivariate Cox regression was performed to identify independent factors of 1-year mortality.

RESULTS: This study evaluated 130 patients who underwent TAVI, with median age of 83 years, and 49% of women. High pre-TAVI CRP (> 0.5 mg/dL) was observed in 34.5% of the cases. Peak CRP was 7.0 (5.3-12.1) mg/dL no quarto dia. The rate of 1-year mortality was 14.5% (n = 19), being greater in the groups with high pre-TAVI CRP (68.8% vs 29.1%; p = 0,004) and with peak CRP ≥ 10.0 mg/dL (64.7% vs 30.8%; p = 0,009). Independent predictors of mortality were acute renal failure (ARF) (hazard ratio [HR] = 7.43; 95% confidence interval [95%CI], 2.1-24.7; p = 0,001), high pre-TAVI CRP (HR 4.15; 95%CI, 1.3-12.9; p = 0.01), and large blood transfusion [HR 4,68; 1,3-16,7; p = 0.02].

CONCLUSIONS: High pre-TAVI CRP showed to be an independent predictor of 1-year mortality, as well as the presence of ARF and large blood transfusions.