Evaluated plasma interleukin-18/interleukin-10 ratio is a risk factor for acute coronary syndromes in patients with stable angina pectoris

BACKGROUND: Studies suggested that interleukin-18 (IL-18)/interleukin-10 (IL-10) ratio is an independent predictor of adverse cardiovascular events in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). In this study we aimed to evaluate the predictive significance of IL-18/IL-10 for the occurrence of ACS in patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP) over a 40-month follow-up. METHODS: The IL-18, IL-10 levels of 257 patients with SAP were determined by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Two hundred and fifty-two patients, 42 of whom had ACS and 210 were event-free, were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of the occurrence of ACS during the 40-month follow-up. RESULTS: Plasma IL-18 and IL-18/IL-10 ratios were both significantly higher (p = 0.001 and p = 0.044, respectively) among patients with ACS, however, IL-10 level was lower (p = 0.046) compared to the patients without ACS. The elevation of plasma IL-18/IL-10 ratio and the number of coronary artery lesions made the advantage ratio of ACS in patients with SAP increase 4.242 times and 1.942 times (p = 0.000 and p = 0.011, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Plasma IL-18 and IL-10 levels in patients with SAP are closely related to the occurrence of ACS, elevated IL-18/IL-10 ratio has a positive predictive value for the occurrence of ACS in patients with SAP.