Usefulness of combining serum uric acid and C-reactive protein for risk stratification of patients with coronary artery disease (Bezafibrate Infarction Prevention [BIP] study).

Combined assessment of serum uric acid (UA) and C-reactive protein (CRP) compared with single-marker evaluation in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) was performed. CRP is an independent predictor of cardiac events in patients with or without CAD. Data regarding the prognostic value of UA in patients with CAD are conflicting. The primary end point (fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction or sudden cardiac death) was related to levels of UA and CRP in 2,966 patients with CAD enrolled in the Bezafibrate Infarction Prevention trial who were followed for a mean period of 6.2 years. Primary end-point rates were directly related to increasing tertiles (from tertile 1 [T1] to tertile 3 [T3]) of UA (12.7%, 12.8%, and 17.6% respectively, p for trend <0.0001) and CRP (11.5%, 14.2%, and 17.3% respectively, p for trend <0.002). By multivariable analysis, T3 UA (>6.25 mg/dl) and T3 CRP (>5.37 mg/dl) were shown to be independently associated with a significant increase in risk for the primary end point (hazard ratio 1.30, 1.01 to 1.68, p = 0.04; hazard ratio 1.31, 1.02 to 1.69, p = 0.03, respectively). Primary end-point rates were similarly high in those patients with a combination of T3 UA and T1 CRP levels (hazard ratio 1.68, 1.05 to 2.66) or a combination of T3 CRP and T1 serum UA levels (hazard ratio 1.64, 1.04 to 2.58) or in patients with T3 of the 2 markers (hazard ratio 1.66, 1.07 to 2.59). In conclusion, combined assessment of UA and CRP levels provides incremental information for risk stratification of patients with CAD with low levels of a single marker.