Metabolic syndrome-mediated inflammation following elective percutaneous coronary intervention

There are few data concerning the relationship between diabetes mellitus, the metabolic syndrome and inflammation following elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The purpose of this study was to assess basal and peak levels of candidate cytokines in 40 patients undergoing elective PCI. Patients were categorised as having diabetes mellitus, the metabolic syndrome, or neither. Patients with the metabolic syndrome exhibited significantly greater levels of tumour necrosis factor-alpha over the study period, although this was unrelated to PCI. There was a trend for increased levels of interleukin-6 following PCI, primarily among patients with metabolic syndrome. Basal levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) were not different among study groups; however, the metabolic syndrome cohort had a trend towards increased circulating levels of MCP-1 after PCI. In this patient population, the metabolic syndrome correlates with a heightened inflammatory response following elective PCI.