High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein as a Prognostic Indicator of Cardiovascular Disease in Severe Non-Diabetic COVID-19 Patients

Mugundhan Kandhasami; Subash Panchanathan; Jayanthi Rajendran; Karthik Balajee Laksham

doi:10.15190/d.2023.11

High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein as a Prognostic Indicator of Cardiovascular Disease in Severe Non-Diabetic COVID-19 Patients

Discoveries (Craiova). 2023 Sep 18;11(3):e172. doi: 10.15190/d.2023.11. eCollection 2023 Jul-Sep.

Authors

Mugundhan Kandhasami¹, Subash Panchanathan¹, Jayanthi Rajendran², Karthik Balajee Laksham³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biochemistry, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Karaikal-609602, Puducherry, India.
² Department of Biochemistry, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, "Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (Deemed -to be-University)," Puducherry-607402.
³ Department of Community Medicine, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Karaikal-609602, Puducherry, India.

Abstract

Objective: The long-term extrapulmonary sequelae of COVID-19 after recovery from the critical stage at the intensive care unit (ICU) are still unclear. Some post-COVID symptoms are prevalent even after a one-year follow-up. To explore the relationship between high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and hyperglycemia with cardiovascular diseases in non-diabetic COVID-19 patients. To determine whether increased fasting blood sugar (FBS) levels are associated with elevated hs-CRP and to explore whether hs-CRP can serve as a prognostic indicator to predict cardiovascular outcome.

Methods: FBS and hs-CRP values of 26 non-diabetic COVID-19 patients were collected from their medical records at JIPMER hospital. In one-year follow-up of these 26 patients, 2mL of blood sample was collected for the analysis of FBS, HbA1c, and hs-CRP.

Results: hs-CRP increased in 23% of follow-up patients who were at high risk, and 42.3% of participants were at average risk for cardiovascular disease. High and average-risk groups of survivors showed a positive correlation of hs-CRP with FBS and HbA1c levels, and these patients should be carefully monitored.

Conclusion: ICU survivors with elevated hs-CRP need periodic check-ups for cardiovascular diseases. We suggest that hs-CRP could be used as an early prognostic indicator of cardiovascular diseases and can reduce the risk.

Keywords: COVID-19 ICU patients.; Cardiovascular disease; Hyperglycemia; Non-Diabetic; hs-CRP.