Value of C-reactive Protein Level to Distinguish between Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Stroke

Abstract

SUMMARY

Stroke has been identified as the main cause of mortality and disability worldwide. Stroke can be classified into ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, in accordance with its underlying pathology. Inflammation plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis C-reactive protein (CRP), an acute-phase reactant produced by hepatocytes, is considered a biomarker of inflammation. There is conflicting evidence in literature to support the role of CRP in development of Ischemic stroke. We conducted a cross section analytical study to compare the CRP level among egyptian cohort of patients (n=72) who were diagnosed with acute ischemic (n=36) versus hemorrhagic strokes (n=36) who were admitted to emergency of Ain shams university, aiming to detect the value of serum CRP level in differentiation between ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. In the present study we found that there was a statistically significant difference between the studied groups and CRP on day 0, mean CRP during Hospital Stay and CRP at discharge. We concluded that Elevated CRP levels are associated with excessive risk of ischemic stroke but not hemorrhagic stroke. The serum CRP level can be used as a predictor for ischemic stroke in the general population.