Acute Phase Reactants as a Prognostic Factor in Acute Stroke

Introduction: Elevated levels of CRP are present among patients at risk for further first-ever myocardial infarction and stroke. It has been shown that after ischemic stroke, increased levels of CRP are associated with unfavorable outcomes. Methods: From 120 patients admitted to the emergency unit of our hospital with the diagnosis of stroke CRP, D-dimer and ferritin level was measured and the patients were followed until discharge or death. Results: CRP level was significantly different between the patients with TIA and stroke. D-Dimer level was also significantly different between the TIA & the admitted groups. Ferritin was not different between the prognosis groups. There was a correlation between CRP and D-Dimer (r = 0.381, p = 0.001), and also between CRP and ferritin (r = 0.478, p= 0.000). Discussion: CRP is a useful adjuvant marker to determine the prognosis of patients with cerebro-vascular events admitted to the hospital, in both patients with stroke positive history and first-ever stroke.