EC Pharmacology and Toxicology

Introduction: Hyperuricemia has been associated with endothelial dysfunction. The increase of carotid intima-media thickness, has been directly associated with atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction and stroke, and may be used as a screening test for the evaluation of the risk of coronary artery disease.

Objective of the Study: The objective of this work is to evaluate the association between hyperuricemia and intima media thickness.

Methods: We included 80 adult patients with uric acid > 5.5 mg/dl, referred from primary care clinics, in which Fasting serum uric acid (enzymatic method) was measured. Also, B-mode color imaging of extracranial carotid arteries was obtained using high-resolution ultrasound (ESAUTE MEGAGP, Italia) equipped with a 10 MHz linear transducer.

The association between uric acid levels and intima media thickness was performed with odds ratio and the Pearson correlation coefficient.

Results: We found a significate correlation between hyperuricemia and intima media thickness (R = 0.666, p = 0.00001)

The Odds ratio for the presence of increased intima media thickness in patients with uric acid levels greater than 7 mg/dl was 4.56 (CI 1.58-13,14, p = 0.0049).

Conclusion: We found that uric acid values, in patients with hyperuricemia, increase the risk for increased intima-media thickness, a surrogate marker of atherosclerosis.

Our results suggest that serum levels of uric acid greater than 7 mg/dl may be involucrate in the development of atherosclerosis.

 Keywords: Uric Acid; Atherosclerosis; Intima-Media Thickness; Hyperuricemia

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