engleski

Correlation between C reactive protein, stroke severity and disability after acute ischemic stroke

Elevated levels of inflammation markers, notably C-reactive protein (CRP) are predictive of cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between CRP and stroke severity and between CRP and disability after acute ischemic stroke. CRP was determined within 24 hours after stroke in 130 patients. We examined stroke severity on the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and accordingly divided patients into three groups: with mild (NIHSS<8), moderate (NIHSS 8-16) and severe (NIHSS>16) stroke. Disability after stroke was determined on the Barthel index (BI) at the hospital discharge and subsequently patients were divided into three groups: with severe (BI 059), moderate (BI 60-84) and mild (BI 85-100) disability. 51 patients (39, 23%) had mild stroke with median CRP values 11, 71 (p<0, 005), 47 (36, 15%) had moderate stroke with median CRP values 24, 81(p<0, 005) and 32 (24, 62%) had severe stroke with median CRP values 42, 35. 59 (45, 38%) patients had severe disability, their median CRP values were 38, 32 ; 28 (21, 54%) had moderate disability with median CRP values 14, 48 and 43 patients (33, 08) had mild disability with median CRP values 11, 12 (p<0, 005). Elevated CRP concentrations are correlated with stroke severity and disability. These findings are consistent with a role of inflammation as one of the important risk factor for atherosclerosis.

C reative protein ; stroke severity

DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2004.00920.x