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Volume 13, Issue 6 (June 2026), Pages: 153-160
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Original Research Paper
Role of NLR and CK-MB as predictive biomarkers for PCI in suspected CAD patients at PAAMCC
Author(s):
Falah Kunaydir S. Alruwaili 1, 2, Johra Khan 1, *
Affiliation(s):
1Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia 2Laboratory and Blood Bank, Prince Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Bin Musaed Cardiac Center, Arar, Saudi Arabia
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* Corresponding Author.
Corresponding author's ORCID profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0044-4758
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2026.06.015
Abstract
Early identification of coronary artery disease (CAD) is important for reducing mortality and improving patient outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) as predictive biomarkers of CAD in patients suspected of requiring percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This hospital-based retrospective cross-sectional study included patients admitted to Prince Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Bin Musaed Cardiac Centre (PAAMCC) between 1 July and 30 November 2023. Clinical, hematological, and biochemical data were collected from electronic medical records. Patients were divided into two groups according to NLR level: normal (≤ 3.0) and high (> 3.0). A total of 276 patients were included, comprising 256 males (92.8%) and 20 females (7.2%), with a mean age of 48.09 ± 7.97 years. Among them, 157 patients (56.9%) underwent PCI and were classified as having CAD. NLR was significantly associated with PCI (P < 0.001), and 143 of the 157 patients who underwent PCI (91.1%) had a high NLR level. Significant differences were also observed between the normal and high NLR groups in serum levels of CK, CK-MB, troponin I, and LDL (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that both NLR and CK-MB were significant predictors of PCI, with adjusted odds ratios (AORs) of 3.08 (P < 0.001) and 1.10 (P = 0.001), respectively. In conclusion, NLR and CK-MB were independently associated with PCI among patients from the Northern Border Region of Saudi Arabia. However, further studies are needed to confirm the clinical value of NLR as an effective diagnostic biomarker for CAD.
© 2026 The Authors. Published by IASE.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords
Coronary artery disease, Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, Creatine kinase-MB, Percutaneous coronary intervention, Diagnostic biomarkers
Article history
Received 30 December 2025, Received in revised form 11 May 2026, Accepted 16 June 2026
Acknowledgment
The authors would also like to thank all the staff and professionals at the Prince Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Bin Musaed Cardiac Centre for their kind encouragement and cooperation during the data collection.
Compliance with ethical standards
Ethical considerations
The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) in Arar, Saudi Arabia (IRB Log No. NIC-IRB-024-05-10). Permission to access patients’ medical records and clinical data was also obtained from the Director of Prince Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Bin Musaed Cardiac Center (PAAMCC). The requirement for informed consent was waived by the IRB because the study was retrospective and used anonymized data collected from medical records.
Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Citation:
Alruwaili FKS and Khan J (2026). Role of NLR and CK-MB as predictive biomarkers for PCI in suspected CAD patients at PAAMCC. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 13(6): 153-160
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