Serum cystatin C is associated with the prognosis in acute myocardial infarction patients after coronary revascularization: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective Our study aimed to assess the association between serum cystatin C levels and prognosis in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients after coronary reconstructive surgery. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library up to January 21, 2022 without language restriction. Outcomes were major cardiovascular events (MACEs) and mortality. The risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were merged by random-effect models. Results We included 8 studies with a total of 7,394 subjects in our meta-analysis. Our meta-analysis showed that higher-level of serum cystatin C levels were associated with higher risk of MACEs (RR = 2.52, 95% CI 1.63-3.89, P < 0.001) and mortality (RR = 2.64, 95% CI 1.66-4.19, P < 0.001) in AMI patients after coronary revascularization. Subgroup analysis showed that the serum cystatin C levels were associated with significantly higher risk of MACEs (RR = 2.72, 95% CI 1.32-5.60, P = 0.006) and mortality (RR = 2.98, 95% CI 1.21-7.37, P = 0.020) in AMI patients after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, in AMI patients after coronary artery bypass surgery, there were no significantly higher risk of MACEs (RR = 2.41, 95% CI 0.98-5.93, P = 0.05) and mortality (RR = 3.15, 95% CI 0.76-13.03, P = 0.10). Further subgroup analysis showed that this significantly higher risk of MACEs and mortality did not change with the study sample size, study population area or study follow-up time. Conclusion The meta-analysis demonstrated that higher serum cystatin C levels were associated with significantly higher risk of MACEs and mortality in AMI patients after PCI. It is a biomarker for risk stratification for predicting the prognosis in AMI patients after PCI.

Automated summary

There is an association between serum cystatin C levels and higher risk of major cardiovascular events (MACEs) and mortality in AMI patients after PCI.