Diagnostic Performance of Uric Acid-to-Albumin Ratio for Detecting the Presence and Severity of Isolated Coronary Artery Ectasia

Abstract

Purpose: In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential utility of the uric acid-to-albumin ratio (UAR) in identifying isolated coronary artery ectasia (iCAE) and to compare its performance with that of conventional inflammatory markers. Objective: In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the power of UAR to predict iCAE. Methods: A total of 440 patients were consecutively included in this retrospective study. Of the subjects, 110 were in the iCAE group, 110 were in the obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) group accompanied by CAE, 110 were in the pure obstructive CAD group, and the remaining 110 were in the group with normal coronary artery on angiography. The groups were compared with each other in terms of UAR and traditional inflammatory markers. The normality of continuous variables was assessed using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Continuous variables were compared using the independent Student’s t-test, Mann–Whitney U test, and Kruskal–Wallis test, where appropriate. Bonferroni and Brown–Forsythe post hoc tests were applied for multiple group comparisons. Categorical variables were analyzed with the χ2 test. Results: UAR levels were significantly higher in the iCAE group compared with the other groups (p < 0.05, for all). UAR levels were significantly higher in Markis I classification, which is the group with the highest severity of iCAE, compared with Markis II-III-IV. In Spearman’s correlation analysis, a moderate but significant positive correlation was found between UAR and CRP (r = 0.186, p < 0.001). UAR was identified as an independent risk factor for iCAE in the regression analysis (OR: 7.166; CI: 6.996–13.892; < 0.001). Conclusion: UAR was found to be superior to traditional biomarkers. UAR may be an important biomarker in the etiopathogenesis of iCAE and a useful biomarker in clinical practice that can lead to the identification of high-risk individuals for iCAE and to take intensive preventive measures.