Study Of C – Reactive Protein With Carotid Intimal Thickness In Ischemic Stroke And Relation With Patient Outcome

Abstract

Background: Stroke is the third most common cause of death in industrialized countries( 9% of all deaths) and one of the biggest causes of disability worldwide. The carotid intima-medial thickness ( IMT) has surfaced as a dependable independent marker of cardiovascular complaint. C- reactive protein( CRP) has been demonstrated to be an important contributory factor for Cardiovascular disease. The association of CRP with stroke is more credible in the presence of a higher carotid IMT.Objectives: To correlate between the levels of c reactive protein and bilateral carotid intima-medial thickness in patients with Acute ischemic stroke.Material & Methods: This is a prospective cross sectional study performed over a period of 1 year in 100 patients who presented to the department of general medicine at Alluri Sitarama Raju Academy of Medical Sciences, Eluru.Results: A total of 100 study participants were enrolled. The mean carotid intimal thickness levels and C-reactive protein levels were 0.833 ± 0.24 mm and 7.877 ± 3.76 mg/dl respectively. 50 out of 100 patients reported carotid intima medial thickness to be more than 0.8 mm. Highly significant association between carotid intima thickness with the patient outcome (p<0.003), whereas 65% reported CRP >6 mg/dl (p <0.001).Carotid medial thickness was significantly correlated with C- reactive protein (p<0.001).
Conclusions: Addition of CRP and carotid intima-medial thickness to conventional risk factors resulted in a modest increase in the ability to predict cerebrovascular accident. Episodes leading to morbidity and mortality can be lowered by routine monitoring of identified risk factors among high-risk individuals and wider acceptance of expected line of treatment in tertiary centre with provision of emergency intensive care unit.