Analysis of correlation between serum NSE, hs-CRP levels and NIHSS score in patients with cerebral infarction

Objective To investigate the correlation between the changes of serum neuron specific enolase (NSE) and hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels and the degree of neurological deficit (NIHSS) score in patients with cerebral infarction. Methods From January 2017 to January 2019, 63 patients with cerebral infarction admitted to Lishui Central Hospital were selected.According to NIHSS score, they were divided into 13 mild cases, 30 moderate cases and 20 severe cases.According to infarction area, they were divided into large area group (16 cases), small area group (27 cases) and lacunar infarction group (20 cases). Another 60 cases underwent health examination in our hospital from January 2017 to January 2019 were selected as the control group.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine the content of NSE, and immunoturbidimetric assay was used to determine the content of hs-CRP.The changes of serum NSE and hs-CRP levels in the cerebral infarction group and control group, serum NSE, hs-CRP levels and NIHSS scores in different severity and infarction area, and the correlation between serum NSE and hs-CRP changes and NIHSS scores were compared. Results The serum levels of NSE [(21.34±3.27)ng/mL] and hs-CRP [(10.48±2.14)mg/L] in the cerebral infarction group were significantly higher than those in the control group [(6.23±1.08)ng/mL, (2.83±0.46)mg/L] (t=34.061, 27.095, all P<0.05). The serum levels of NSE [(26.98±3.64) ng/mL], hs-CRP [(15.36±2.57)mg/L] and NIHSS score[(38.49±3.25)points] in the severe group were higher than those in the moderate group and mild group, which in the moderate group [(20.98±3.21)ng/mL, (10.25±2.09)mg/L and (22.18±3.48)points] were higher than those in the mild group [(12.64±2.78)ng/mL, (5.47±1.40)mg/L and (7.38±2.56)], the differences were statistically significant (F=14.975, 9.132, 15.873, all P<0.05). The serum levels of NSE [(25.43±3.35)ng/mL], hs-CRP [(16.54±2.71)mg/L] and NIHSS score[(37.34±3.75)points] in the large area group were higher than those in the small area group and lacunar infarction group, which in the small area group [(21.67±3.12)ng/mL, (10.86±2.21)mg/L and (21.25±3.26)points] were higher than those in the lacunar infarction group [(13.45±2.97)ng/mL, (4.79±1.35)mg/L and (8.49±2.15)points], the differences were statistically significant (F=13.241, 9.893, 17.482, all P<0.05). The serum levels of NSE and hs-CRP were positively correlated with NIHSS score (r=0.829, 0.713, all P<0.05). Conclusion The levels of serum NSE and hs-CRP in patients with cerebral infarction increase with the progression of the disease, and there is a linear positive correlation between NSE and hs-CRP and NIHSS score.It is considered that NSE and hs-CRP are of great value in evaluating the degree of neurological impairment, the severity of the disease and the size of the infarct. Key words: Infarction, middle cerebral artery; Neuron-specific enolase; C-reactive protein; Neurological deficit score