Acute Phase Reactants as a Prognostic Factor in Acute Stroke

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. 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. 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). 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.