Old complication, new marker: the relationship between the systemic immune-inflammation index and post-pericardiotomy syndrome.

Abstract

Background: Post-pericardiotomy syndrome (PPS) is a common complication after cardiovascular surgery. Post-operative hospitalizations are prolonged due to PPS and mortality is increased due to pericardial effusion leading to cardiac tamponade. Studies have shown that inflammation plays a role in etiology. 
 Objectives: The systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) is a new non-invasive marker that has been shown to be effective in predicting inflammatory diseases. In our study, we aimed to investigate the association between the development of PPS and SII in patients undergoing open-heart surgery 
 Methods: Patients who underwent elective open-heart surgery at our institution between 2017 and 2022 were retrospectively studied. Patients who developed PPS and patients who did not develop PPS were included as two different groups in the study. We investigated whether there was a significant difference between the two groups in terms of SII. 
 Results: A total of 228 patients were enrolled in the study, 132 in the patient group and 96 in the control group. The mean age was 63.48 years in the patient group and 65.09 years in the control group and no statistically significant difference was found (p 0.34). There were also no significant differences between the two groups in terms of gender (p 0.47), hypertension (p 0.22), hyperlipidemia (p 0.66), coronary artery disease (p 0.76), diabetes (p 0.023), smoking (p 0.35), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (p 0.49). The median value for SII was 568.91 (530.17) in the patient group and 634.79 (613.23) in the control group, and no significant difference was found between the groups (p 0.208). Statistically significant differences were found in hemoglobin (p 0.03), hematocrit (p 0.02), and glucose (p 0.018) values between both groups. 
 Conclusion: The SII is not a useful parameter for predicting post-pericardiotomy syndrome. Comprehensive studies with larger patient populations including subgroup analyzes are needed in this regard.