Abstract
BACKGROUND: Inflammatory cells and remnant cholesterol (RC) play an important role in the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases. In order to understand their contribution to cardiovascular diseases, we proposed the RC to lymphocyte ratio (RCLR) that reflects the level of serum lipid and inflammation as a predictive indicator. In this study, we explored the correlation between RCLR and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with unstable angina (UA) treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: RCLR was calculated by dividing RC by lymphocyte percentage. Patients were divided into four groups according to RCLR quartiles. The endpoint of the study was MACE, a composite endpoint including all-cause mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), and ischemia‑driven revascularization. The multivariable Cox proportional hazard model was used to determine the exclusive effect of RCLR on MACE. RESULTS: The study was conducted on 1092 patients with UA. The rate of MACE increased as RCLR quartiles increased (quartile 4 vs quartile 1: 40.9% vs 9.2%, p < 0.001). An adjustment for confounding variables revealed that an increase in the rate of MACE was directly proportional to RCLR (quartile 4 vs quartile 1: HR - 5.85 [95% CI, 3.77-9.08], p < 0.001, p for trend < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: RCLR independently correlated with the incidence of MACE in patients with UA treated with PCI.