Salivary Biomarkers, Oral Inflammation, and Functional Status in Patients With Heart Failure

Abstract

Median biomarker concentrations were as follows: BNP (serum 361 pg/ml, saliva 9 pg/ml), CRP (serum 13 ng/ml, saliva 25.6 ng/ml), IL-6 (serum 19.3 pg/ml, saliva 10.5 pg/ml), and IL-10 (serum 64.1 pg/ml, saliva 4.7 pg/ml). There was a moderate-to-strong correlation for serum-salivary CRP, weak correlation for serum-salivary IL-6, and no correlations for serum-salivary BNP and IL-10. The Bland-Altman test showed good salivary-serum agreement for all biomarkers, but as serum concentrations rose, salivary measures underestimated serum levels. Visible oral inflammation was the only predictor of worse NYHA class.