Earlobe Crease in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease at Hue Central Hospital

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Chi Thang Doan, Khoi Nguyen Tran

 
International Journal of Biomedicine. 2023;13(4):246-249.
DOI: 10.21103/Article13(4)_OA2
Originally published December 5, 2023

Abstract: 

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between earlobe crease (ELC) and the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD).
Methods and Results: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 112 patients diagnosed with CAD who underwent coronary angiography at the Department of Emergency - Interventional Cardiology (Hue Central Hospital) from March 2023 to April 2023. All patients were examined clinically for bilateral ELC. Coronary artery injury was evaluated by using the Gensini score (GS). The results are presented as median (Me) and interquartile range (IQR [Q1-Q3]). A multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to calculate the unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% CI.
Regarding ELC appearance, 84.8% of patients had bilateral ELC and 6.3% had unilateral ELC. As for length, 52.7% had complete length, while 38.4% had incomplete length. Regarding depth, the highest percentage of patients, 38.4%, had moderate depth, and the lowest percentage, 25%, had severe depth. Grade 2b had the highest frequency of 27.7%. GS of the bilateral group (28 [16–50]) was higher than that of the unilateral/no crease group (13 [7.5–21]), P<0.05. In terms of length, the GS of the complete group was significantly higher (32 [20–56]) than that of the incomplete group (16 [10–35]), P<0.05. Similarly, the GS of the group with severe depth was higher (33 [22.5–62]) than that of the mild/moderate depth group (21.5 [11.25–40]), P<0.05). In univariate analysis, bilateral crease, complete length, and severe depth were predictors of damage to ≥2 coronary arteries. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that all 3 factors above— bilateral appearance (OR=3.791, 95% CI: 1.306 to 11.009), complete length (OR=3.896; 95% CI: 3.896 to 9.103), and severe depth (OR=3.692; 95% CI: 1.173 to 11.620)—were independent prognostic factors for lesions of ≥2 coronary arteries.
Conclusion: ELC can be regarded as a clinical sign suggesting the patient should be considered for CAD screening and prognosis.

Keywords: 
earlobe crease • coronary artery disease • coronary angiography
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Received September 30, 2023.
Accepted November 8, 2023.
©2023 International Medical Research and Development Corporation.