Serum inflammatory markers as predictors of neurological status in patients with stroke in the course of hypertension: a two-center study

Introduction. Every year, 60.000 people have stroke incidents in Poland. Despite the fact that it can be prevented, stroke remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Hypertension is one of the leading risk factors for the stroke incident. The aim was to assess the relationship between inflammatory markers and clinical status of hypertensive patients with the stroke. Material and methods. 713 patients with stroke in the course of hypertension from the Departments of Neurology in Bytom and Zabrze were enrolled in the retrospective study. They were divided into groups: N1, R1 (with improvement in NIHSS and Rankin results, respectively) and N2, R2 (with deterioration or no changes in NIHSS and Rankin between the day of admission and discharge). Results. The majority of patients were females [%] (51.5 vs 48.5). Women were significantly older than man [years] (78.0 vs 69.0, P = 0.001, respectively) and had higher NIHSS results at admission [points] (6.0 vs 5.0, P = 0.001, respectively). There were significant differences in the serum CRP [mg/l] (4.75 vs 9.40, P = 0.001) and WBC [103/μL] (8.58 vs 9.02, P = 0.006) between N1 and N2, respectively and between R1 and R2: WBC (8.50 vs 9.00, P = 0.006) and CRP (4.20 vs 8.70, P = 0.001), respectively. A significant correlation between CRP and NIHSS on admission was observed (R = 0.191, P < 0.05). NIHSS and Rankin score on admission were correlated with age (R = 0.212, and R = 0.231, P < 0.05, respectively). CRP was related with the volume [cm3] of lesions in CT (R = 0.170, P < 0.05). Conclusions. Inflammation seems to be associated with the worse neurological status of patients with stroke and hypertension. Age and sex affect the clinical course of stroke. CRP may indicate the size of changes in CT