A Cross-sectional Study to Correlate the Levels of High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein and Size of Infarct in Ischemic Stroke

Abstract Background: Inflammation plays a major role in the pathophysiology of acute cerebrovascular accidents and nowadays, a newer and more sensitive method to test for lower circulating levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), highly sensitive CRP (hsCRP), is being used in apparently healthy individuals for risk assessment. Previous studies show that CRP strongly correlates with stroke severity and independently predicts mortality and recurrence in patients with acute ischemic stroke. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between inflammatory marker-hsCRP and stroke severity by means of volumetric measurement of infarct size. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 60 patients with acute ischemic stroke were included who were diagnosed using the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Serum levels of hsCRP were measured. Lesion volumes (in ml) were calculated by multiplying slice thickness (4–5 mm) by the total lesion area and divided into quartiles. The relationship between hsCRP levels and diffusion-weighted imaging infarct volume quartiles was examined. Results: Ischemic stroke was predominantly seen in the male population ( n = 36, 60%) and the sixth decade of life. The mean NIHSS score of the study population was 10.68 ± 1.068. The mean (± standard deviation [SD]) level of serum hsCRP was 6.69 ± 7.072 mg/L. The mean (± SD) stroke volume was 8.64 ± 14.21 ml. The correlation between hsCRP and the size of infarct on three-dimensional MRI brain scan was statistically highly significant ( P < 0.001, r = 0.667). Conclusions: Higher hsCRP levels were associated with larger infarct volumes in acute ischemic stroke suggesting that elevated hsCRP levels, may serve as a helpful serologic marker in the evaluation of the severity of acute ischemic stroke.