Effect of Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy on Inflammation in Heart Transplant Recipients

This prospective interventional study evaluated the effect of non‐surgical periodontaltherapy (NSPT) on clinical periodontal parameters and systemic inflammatory markers inclinically stable heart transplant recipients. It was conducted as a follow‐on to apreviously published cross‐sectional study by the same group, which demonstrated elevatedhs‐CRP levels in heart transplant recipients with periodontitis compared withperiodontally healthy recipients and those with gingivitis.Eligible participants were heart transplant recipients at least one yearpost‐transplantation, clinically stable, and diagnosed with gingivitis or periodontitisrequiring NSPT. Participants were excluded if they had received systemic antibioticswithin the preceding six months, had undergone periodontal treatment within the previousyear, or presented with systemic inflammatory or infectious conditions that couldindependently confound inflammatory marker levels (e.g., uncontrolled diabetes mellitus,active infection requiring antibiotic therapy).At baseline, a calibrated periodontist performed a comprehensive periodontal examinationusing a UNC‐15 periodontal probe, recording plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP),probing depth (PD), and clinical attachment level (CAL). Periodontal diagnoses wereassigned according to the current classification of periodontal and peri‐implant diseasesand conditions. Fasting venous blood samples were collected for measurement of serumhs‐CRP, leukocyte count, hematocrit, and platelet count.All participants subsequently received NSPT, consisting of full‐mouth debridement withultrasonic instrumentation and hand curettes, together with professional oral hygieneinstruction. Periodontal and hematological parameters were reassessed three months aftercompletion of therapy.Of 33 heart transplant recipients initially assessed for eligibility, 30 met inclusioncriteria, 20 consented to participate and underwent NSPT, and 17 completed the 3‐monthfollow‐up and were included in the final analysis.Statistical analyses were performed using Python (SciPy, pandas). Normality ofwithin‐patient difference scores was assessed with the Shapiro‐Wilk test; paired‐samplest‐tests (Cohen's d) were applied where differences were approximately normallydistributed, and Wilcoxon signed‐rank tests (effect size r) were used otherwise.Between‐group delta comparisons employed independent‐samples t‐tests or Mann‐Whitney Utests. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05 (two‐tailed).