The effect of treated apical periodontitis before heart valve surgery on C-reactive protein levels

Abstract

Objective Dental infections produce significant increases in systemic inflammatory responses manifested by cytokines and acute-phase reactants. This study evaluated the postoperative C-reactive protein (CRP) levels according to patients having teeth treated or not treated for apical periodontitis (AP) before heart valve surgery. Materials and Methods Preoperative, postoperative third- and fifth-day CRP levels, and the previous dental data of 91 patients were investigated. Whether the patients had been treated for AP and whether they used antibiotic prophylaxis for this treatment were determined by examining the previous data. The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used for statistical analysis. Results There were no statistically significant differences in the preoperative CRP levels and the third-day CRP levels between all patients treated and those not treated for AP (p > .05). The mean fifth-day CRP levels of the patients with teeth treated for AP were significantly lower than those of the patients with teeth not treated for AP (p < .05). Antibiotic prophylaxis had a significant effect on the fifth-day CRP levels. Conclusion The decrease in CRP levels after AP treatment may contribute to alleviating heart valve disease and maintaining cardiac health.