Abstract:Objective To analyze the levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α/interleukin (IL)-4 ratio in patients with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), and to investigate the diagnostic value of the combination for CSVD. Methods A retrospective study was conducted involving 105 patients with CSVD, who were admitted to Yancheng First Peoples Hospital from February 2022 to November 2023, categorized as the CSVD group. Additionally, 37 healthy individuals undergoing health checkups during the same period were included in the control group. General demographic data and relevant medical history were collected. Inflammatory factor levels in peripheral blood at admission ［hs-CRP, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-4, IL-10, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1］ were measured, and the TNF-α/IL-4 ratio was calculated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess the diagnostic value of each individual and combined marker for CSVD. Results The levels of peripheral blood hs-CRP, IL-6, IL-6/IL-10, IL-6/IL-4, and TNF-α/IL-4 were significantly higher in the CSVD group compared to the control group (P＜0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the levels of IL-4, IL-10, TNF-α, and TNF-α/IL-10 between the two groups (P＞0.05). ROC curve analysis revealed that the areas under the curve (AUC) for hs-CRP, IL-6, and the ratios IL-6/IL-10, IL-6/IL-4, and TNF-α/IL-4 in diagnosing CSVD were 0.759, 0.666, 0.698, 0.661, and 0.701, respectively. The combination of hs-CRP and TNF-α/IL-4 showed the highest diagnostic efficacy for CSVD, with an AUC of 0.817. Conclusion Hs-CRP, TNF-α/IL-4 are potential circulating markers for diagnosing CSVD, and their combined use has good diagnostic efficacy.