Alessandro Andreis , Andrea Solano , Marco Balducci , Cristina Picollo , Margherita Ghigliotti , Mario Giordano , Alessandra Agosti , Valentino Collini , Matteo Anselmino , Gaetano Maria De Ferrari , Mauro Rinaldi , Gianluca Alunni , Massimo Imazio
{"title":"INFLA 评分:鉴别心包炎的新诊断范式。","authors":"Alessandro Andreis , Andrea Solano , Marco Balducci , Cristina Picollo , Margherita Ghigliotti , Mario Giordano , Alessandra Agosti , Valentino Collini , Matteo Anselmino , Gaetano Maria De Ferrari , Mauro Rinaldi , Gianluca Alunni , Massimo Imazio","doi":"10.1016/j.hjc.2024.03.010","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Diagnosis of pericarditis may be challenging because not all patients meet the conventional criteria. An overlooked diagnosis implies a longer course of symptoms and an increased risk of recurrences. C-reactive protein (CRP), widely used as an inflammation marker, has some limitations. This study aimed to assess the usefulness and prognostic value of INFLA-score, a validated index assessing low-grade inflammation, in the definite diagnosis of pericarditis.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Patients with suspected pericarditis were included. The INFLA-score was computed based on white blood cells and platelet count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and CRP, ranging from −16 to +16. An INFLA-score > 0 was considered positive for the presence of pericardial inflammation. The primary end point was the association of INFLA-score with diagnosis of pericarditis according to conventional criteria. The recurrence of pericarditis at 6 months was the secondary end point.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>A total of 202 patients were included, aged 47 ± 17 years, and 57% were females. Among 72 (36%) patients with a diagnosis of pericarditis, an INFLA-score > 0 was observed in 86% (vs. 36%, p < 0.001), abnormal CRP in 42% (vs. 10%, p < 0.001), pericardial effusion in 44% (vs. 19%, p < 0.001), abnormal electrocardiogram in 56% (vs. 24%, p < 0.001), and rubs in 5% (vs. 0.1%, p = 0.072). INFLA-score > 0 had the strongest predictive value for the diagnosis of pericarditis (hazard ratio 8.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.39–21.21), with 86% sensitivity and 64% specificity, as opposed to CRP (hazard ratio 1.72, non-significant 95% CI 0.69–4.29). Recurrent pericarditis at 6 months was more frequent in patients with a positive INFLA-score (37% vs. 8%, p < 0.001, rate ratio 4.15, 95% CI 2.81–6.12). In patients with normal CRP, INFLA-score–confirmed ongoing inflammation in 78% of the cases. Compared with the conventional criteria, the INFLA-score had the highest accuracy (area under the curve = 0.82). Different cutoffs were valuable to rule out (INFLA-score > 0, sensitivity 86%, and negative likelihood ratio 0.22) or rule in (INFLA-score ≥ 10, specificity 97%, and positive likelihood ratio 13) the diagnosis.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The INFLA-score is a useful diagnostic tool to assess the probability of pericarditis, with a strong prognostic value for further recurrences, outperforming CRP.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55062,"journal":{"name":"Hellenic Journal of Cardiology","volume":"84 ","pages":"Pages 43-50"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"INFLA-score: A new diagnostic paradigm to identify pericarditis\",\"authors\":\"Alessandro Andreis , Andrea Solano , Marco Balducci , Cristina Picollo , Margherita Ghigliotti , Mario Giordano , Alessandra Agosti , Valentino Collini , Matteo Anselmino , Gaetano Maria De Ferrari , Mauro Rinaldi , Gianluca Alunni , Massimo Imazio\",\"doi\":\"10.1016/j.hjc.2024.03.010\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Diagnosis of pericarditis may be challenging because not all patients meet the conventional criteria. An overlooked diagnosis implies a longer course of symptoms and an increased risk of recurrences. C-reactive protein (CRP), widely used as an inflammation marker, has some limitations. This study aimed to assess the usefulness and prognostic value of INFLA-score, a validated index assessing low-grade inflammation, in the definite diagnosis of pericarditis.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Patients with suspected pericarditis were included. The INFLA-score was computed based on white blood cells and platelet count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and CRP, ranging from −16 to +16. An INFLA-score > 0 was considered positive for the presence of pericardial inflammation. The primary end point was the association of INFLA-score with diagnosis of pericarditis according to conventional criteria. The recurrence of pericarditis at 6 months was the secondary end point.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>A total of 202 patients were included, aged 47 ± 17 years, and 57% were females. Among 72 (36%) patients with a diagnosis of pericarditis, an INFLA-score > 0 was observed in 86% (vs. 36%, p < 0.001), abnormal CRP in 42% (vs. 10%, p < 0.001), pericardial effusion in 44% (vs. 19%, p < 0.001), abnormal electrocardiogram in 56% (vs. 24%, p < 0.001), and rubs in 5% (vs. 0.1%, p = 0.072). INFLA-score > 0 had the strongest predictive value for the diagnosis of pericarditis (hazard ratio 8.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.39–21.21), with 86% sensitivity and 64% specificity, as opposed to CRP (hazard ratio 1.72, non-significant 95% CI 0.69–4.29). Recurrent pericarditis at 6 months was more frequent in patients with a positive INFLA-score (37% vs. 8%, p < 0.001, rate ratio 4.15, 95% CI 2.81–6.12). In patients with normal CRP, INFLA-score–confirmed ongoing inflammation in 78% of the cases. Compared with the conventional criteria, the INFLA-score had the highest accuracy (area under the curve = 0.82). Different cutoffs were valuable to rule out (INFLA-score > 0, sensitivity 86%, and negative likelihood ratio 0.22) or rule in (INFLA-score ≥ 10, specificity 97%, and positive likelihood ratio 13) the diagnosis.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The INFLA-score is a useful diagnostic tool to assess the probability of pericarditis, with a strong prognostic value for further recurrences, outperforming CRP.</div></div>\",\"PeriodicalId\":55062,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Hellenic Journal of Cardiology\",\"volume\":\"84 \",\"pages\":\"Pages 43-50\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":3.0000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-07-01\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Hellenic Journal of Cardiology\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"3\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S110996662400071X\",\"RegionNum\":3,\"RegionCategory\":\"医学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q2\",\"JCRName\":\"CARDIAC & CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Hellenic Journal of Cardiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S110996662400071X","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CARDIAC & CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS","Score":null,"Total":0}
INFLA-score: A new diagnostic paradigm to identify pericarditis
Background
Diagnosis of pericarditis may be challenging because not all patients meet the conventional criteria. An overlooked diagnosis implies a longer course of symptoms and an increased risk of recurrences. C-reactive protein (CRP), widely used as an inflammation marker, has some limitations. This study aimed to assess the usefulness and prognostic value of INFLA-score, a validated index assessing low-grade inflammation, in the definite diagnosis of pericarditis.
Methods
Patients with suspected pericarditis were included. The INFLA-score was computed based on white blood cells and platelet count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and CRP, ranging from −16 to +16. An INFLA-score > 0 was considered positive for the presence of pericardial inflammation. The primary end point was the association of INFLA-score with diagnosis of pericarditis according to conventional criteria. The recurrence of pericarditis at 6 months was the secondary end point.
Results
A total of 202 patients were included, aged 47 ± 17 years, and 57% were females. Among 72 (36%) patients with a diagnosis of pericarditis, an INFLA-score > 0 was observed in 86% (vs. 36%, p < 0.001), abnormal CRP in 42% (vs. 10%, p < 0.001), pericardial effusion in 44% (vs. 19%, p < 0.001), abnormal electrocardiogram in 56% (vs. 24%, p < 0.001), and rubs in 5% (vs. 0.1%, p = 0.072). INFLA-score > 0 had the strongest predictive value for the diagnosis of pericarditis (hazard ratio 8.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.39–21.21), with 86% sensitivity and 64% specificity, as opposed to CRP (hazard ratio 1.72, non-significant 95% CI 0.69–4.29). Recurrent pericarditis at 6 months was more frequent in patients with a positive INFLA-score (37% vs. 8%, p < 0.001, rate ratio 4.15, 95% CI 2.81–6.12). In patients with normal CRP, INFLA-score–confirmed ongoing inflammation in 78% of the cases. Compared with the conventional criteria, the INFLA-score had the highest accuracy (area under the curve = 0.82). Different cutoffs were valuable to rule out (INFLA-score > 0, sensitivity 86%, and negative likelihood ratio 0.22) or rule in (INFLA-score ≥ 10, specificity 97%, and positive likelihood ratio 13) the diagnosis.
Conclusions
The INFLA-score is a useful diagnostic tool to assess the probability of pericarditis, with a strong prognostic value for further recurrences, outperforming CRP.
期刊介绍:
The Hellenic Journal of Cardiology (International Edition, ISSN 1109-9666) is the official journal of the Hellenic Society of Cardiology and aims to publish high-quality articles on all aspects of cardiovascular medicine. A primary goal is to publish in each issue a number of original articles related to clinical and basic research. Many of these will be accompanied by invited editorial comments.
Hot topics, such as molecular cardiology, and innovative cardiac imaging and electrophysiological mapping techniques, will appear frequently in the journal in the form of invited expert articles or special reports. The Editorial Committee also attaches great importance to subjects related to continuing medical education, the implementation of guidelines and cost effectiveness in cardiology.