Associations of inflammatory and haemostatic biomarkers with poor outcome in acute ischaemic stroke

Abstract

Background: Many inflammatory and haemostatic biomarkers show associations with acute ischaemic stroke outcome, but few studies compare a large range of markers.

Methods: We assessed clinical status and 16 biomarkers within 24 h of onset in 180 consecutive acute ischaemic stroke patients.

Results: A total of 94 patients had a poor outcome (dead or dependent at 30 days). C-reactive protein (CRP), IL-6, and fibrin D-dimer showed the strongest univariate associations with poor outcome (>2-fold increase; p < 0.01). When all biomarkers were included with clinical variables in a multivariable model, only D-dimer (OR 1.54; 95% CI 1.09-2.17), CRP (OR 1.31; 95% CI 1.03-1.68) and Scandinavian Stroke Scale (OR 0.91; 95% CI 0.88-0.95) were associated with poor outcome.

Conclusions: D-dimer and CRP are independently associated with poor outcome in acute ischaemic stroke. More data is required to expand our understanding of these potential relationships with outcome.