Increased Serum Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index is Independently Associated With Severity of Carotid Artery...

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Immunology
• Diagnostic Biomarkers

Background:

• Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide.
• Carotid artery stenosis (CAS) is a major risk factor for ischemic stroke.
• Predictive biomarkers for CAS severity are crucial for timely intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utility of the systemic immune inflammation index (SII) in predicting the severity of carotid artery stenosis (CAS).
• To determine if SII can serve as a reliable biomarker for identifying critical CAS.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 418 patients undergoing carotid artery angiography (CAAG).
• Calculation of SII using platelet count and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR).
• Comparison of inflammatory markers between non-critical (<70% stenosis) and critical (≥70% stenosis) CAS groups.

Main Results:

• Critical CAS group showed significantly higher hs-CRP, NLR, platelet/lymphocyte ratio, and SII compared to the non-critical group.
• Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis identified an SII cutoff of 672.3 for predicting critical CAS with 71.2% sensitivity and 60.1% specificity.
• Elevated SII was independently associated with increased CAS severity.

Conclusions:

• The systemic immune inflammation index (SII) is a valuable and independent predictor of critical carotid artery stenosis severity.
• SII offers a potential non-invasive tool for risk stratification in patients with CAS.
• Further research may explore incorporating SII into clinical guidelines for stroke prevention strategies.