Original article
English
Fathi O Dakhil, Abdulhakim M Albarsha, Abdullah K Alshmikh, Abdulhadi Ezzat
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Garyounis, Benghazi-Libya
JMJ Vol.5 No. 1 (Spring) 2006: 28-31
Abstract
In one-month period, 229 patients admitted to the medical department of El-Jala and 7th October hospitals in Benghazi, Libya, were studied for the presence of an ear lobe crease (ELC) and coronary artery disease. The prevalence of the sign was 37.1%. Out of 99 patients with Coronary heart disease, 57 (57.6%) had the ear lobe crease compared with only 28 (21.5%) of the non-CHD. The sensitivity of the sign was 57.6%, the specificity 78.5% and the positive predictive value 67.1%. The sign was associated with increasing age, but was also independently associated with coronary artery disease. A significant correlation was also found between the sign and hypertension but not with the other risk factors for coronary artery disease. The sign can be regarded as a risk factor or a physical marker for coronary artery disease during examination of patients admitted for different medical problems.
Keywords: Diagonal ear crease, Coronary artery disease
Link/DOI: http://www.jmj.org.ly/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=63