Abstract:
Objective To explore the predictive value of combined serum soluble hemoglobin scavenger receptor 163 (sCD163), hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT) for stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP).
Methods A total of 100 patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted to the First Hospital of Zhangjiakou from October 2021 to January 2023 were selected as the study subjects. According to whether they developed SPA within 7 days of admission, they were divided into SAP group (n= 64) and non-SAP group (n=36). Based on pneumonia severity index (PSI), patients in the SAP group were further divided into mild SAP group and severe SAP group. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the serum levels of sCD163, hs-CRP, and PCT. The clinical data of the patients were collected and compared. Pearson's method was used to analyze the correlation between the PSI score and the serum levels of sCD163, hs-CRP, and PCT in SAP patients. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was employed to screen for factors influencing the occurrence of SAP. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the predictive efficacy of serum sCD163, hs-CRP, and PCT for the occurrence of SAP.
Results The proportion of patients with dysphagia and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score in the SAP group were significantly higher than those in the non-SAP group (P < 0.05). The serum levels of sCD163, hs-CRP, and PCT in the SAP group were significantly higher than those in the non-SAP group (P < 0.05). The serum levels of sCD163, hs-CRP, and PCT in the severe SAP group were significantly higher than those in the mild SAP group (P < 0.05). Pearson's correlation analysis showed that the PSI score was positively correlated with the serum levels of sCD163, hs-CRP and PCT in SAP patients (r=0.356, 0.413, 0.391, P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that serum sCD163, hs-CRP, PCT, NIHSS score, and dysphagia were all influencing factors for the occurrence of SAP (P < 0.05). The areas under the curve (AUC) for predicting SAP using serum sCD163, hs-CRP, PCT and their combination were 0.842, 0.924, 0.866 and 0.973, respectively, with sensitivities of 73.44%, 84.37%, 67.19% and 90.62%, and specificities of 88.89%, 83.33%, 97.22% and 94.44%, respectively. The predictive value of the combined detection was superior to that of the individual detection of serum sCD163, hs-CRP and PCT (P < 0.05).
Conclusion The serum levels of sCD163, hs-CRP, and PCT are elevated in SAP patients, and their changes are closely related to the severity of the disease. The combined detection of these three indicators has a high value in predicting the occurrence of SAP and may serve as auxiliary markers for predicting early SAP.