Evaluation of the Effect of Thrombolytic Therapy on Inflammatory Markers in Patients With Acute Pulmonary Embolism.

BACKGROUND

Acute pulmonary embolism (APE) is a serious cardiovascular condition characterized by high rates of morbidity and mortality, with inflammation playing a significant role in the severity of the disease and patient outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of thrombolytic therapy on inflammatory markers in patients diagnosed with APE.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

The study was conducted retrospectively on 138 individuals, 69 with pulmonary embolism and 69 without pulmonary embolism (control), who were admitted to Necmettin Erbakan University between January 2019 and April 2023. Demographic information, C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils, platelets, systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), multi-inflammatory index (MII-1 and MII-2), hemoglobin, and lymphocyte-to-C-reactive protein ratio (LCR) levels of the cases were evaluated. The inflammatory markers were measured before and after thrombolytic therapy.

RESULTS

Levels of CRP, WBC, SII, NLR, and MII-1 were significantly increased in the pulmonary embolism group compared to the control group (p<0.05). In contrast, there was a notable decrease in hemoglobin, MII-2, and LCR levels (p<0.05). In the pulmonary embolism group, levels of CRP, WBC, neutrophils, lymphocytes, hemoglobin, SII, NLR, and MII-1 were significantly lower after thrombolytic treatment compared to their levels before the treatment (p<0.05). Conversely, the post-thrombolytic treatment group exhibited significantly higher levels of platelets, PLR, and LCR compared to the pre-thrombolytic treatment group (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings indicate that novel inflammatory markers, such as SII, NLR, and MII, are elevated in APE and tend to decrease following thrombolytic therapy. This suggests that these markers could be useful for monitoring treatment effectiveness and predicting patient outcomes. However, further research is necessary to confirm their clinical utility.