Correlation between CRP Level and Stroke Volume

Abstract

Background: Stroke is an important health issue for individuals and society. Early identification of risk factors of stroke patients helps take measures to prevent the development of further stroke. C-reactive protein is a marker of acute infection as well as acute inflammation. A high level of CRP may be associated with poor outcomes because they reflect either an inflammatory reaction or tissue damage (den Hertog HM et al., 2009). Increase in inflammatory parameters correlated significantly with lesion volume and stroke severity (Audebert HJ et al., 2004). Aim of the study: To see the Correlation between CRP level and stroke volume. And to see the CRP level as a prognostic marker in 3 months follow-ups in ischemic stroke. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study undertaken in the neurology department of a medical college hospital in Bangladesh. A total of 130 patients were included in the study group who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Out of 130 patients, 63 were ischemic strokes and 67 were hemorrhagic strokes. Results: In our study, the estimated level of mean CRP level in acute haemorrhagic stroke was 8.6 mg/L. and in acute ischemic stroke was 21.6mg/L. In this study, there was a statistically significant relationship between the size of the infarct and the level of estimated CRP in ischemic stroke. There was no correlation between CRP level and volume of hemorrhage in hemorrhagic stroke. In this study, the mean CRP value was 19.1 mg/L in those patients who were alive and 28.4 mg/L in those patients who died of ischemic stroke. The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (p-value 0.30) though the mean CRP in patients who died were much higher than in those who were alive. Conclusion: In conclusion, we believe that these data support two main conclusions. First, the elevation of CRP is common in ischemic stroke. Second, advanced CRP levels were associated with larger infarct size in cases with acute ischemic stroke. These results suggest that elevated CRP levels, reflecting a large infarct size, may serve as a helpful serologic marker in the evaluation of inflexibility of acute ischemic stroke.