White blood cell count and C-reactive protein predict short-term prognosis in acute myocardial infarction

An elevated white blood cell (WBC) count and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration are associated with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and long-term mortality in patients with coronary artery disease. Their relationship with short-term prognosis following AMI is less clear, however. We investigated the relationship between WBC count and CRP concentration, obtained at the time of admission, and the development of subsequent ischaemic coronary events (SICE) within 30 days of AMI in 177 patients. After adjustment for confounding factors, CRP concentration was found to be a strong independent predictor for SICE within 30 days in patients with AMI. WBC count was not found to be an independent predictor, but there was a strong correlation between high WBC counts and the onset of SICE within 30 days in patients with AMI. We conclude that CRP concentration and WBC count could be used to predict the short-term prognosis of patients with AMI.