Objectives: Cystatin C is used both as a glomerular filtration (GFR) marker and a cardiovascular risk marker. There are several studies showing an association between cystatin C and inflammatory markers and it has been suggested that the inflammatory response in itself could result in elevated cystatin C levels. The aim of this study was to evaluate if an induced inflammatory response has an effect on cystatin C levels in humans.
Materials and methods: CRP and cystatin C were analyzed in serum samples from orthopedic surgery patients (n=29). The patients were sampled prior to surgery and four and thirty days after surgery.
Results: The surgery induced a pronounced CRP elevation on day four, median 137.3 (interquartile range 104.1-178.2) mg/L compared to 1.94 (1.20-8.70) mg/L before surgery, P<0.001, but no significant difference in cystatin C levels before and four and thirty days after surgery could be seen.
Conclusions: The orthopedic surgery-induced inflammatory response does not cause changes in cystatin C levels.
Copyright (c) 2010 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.