Prognostic role of C-reactive protein in very old patients with acute ischaemic stroke

BACKGROUND AND SCOPE: Recent literature has demonstrated that inflammation contributes to all phases of atherosclerosis and brain damage caused by stroke. In acute phase of cerebrovascular diseases biochemical markers of inflammation, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), could represent an indicator of severity of stroke, but few studies have verified this hypothesis, especially in very old patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of CRP on short- and long-term prognosis in 75-year old and over elderly patients with acute ischaemic stroke. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated CRP values (nephelometric method), performed within 12 h from hospital admission, in 196 elderly patients (124 females and 72 males with mean age+/-SD 83.32+/-10.46 years), discharged with diagnosis of acute ischaemic stroke, 68 of them with atherothrombotic large vessel stroke, 38 with lacunar stroke and 90 with cardioembolic stroke. We studied the relationship between CRP values and short-term prognosis [30-day mortality, length of hospitalization (LOS) and physical disability measured by modified Rankin scale and long-term prognosis (12-month mortality and re-hospitalization)]. RESULTS: Mean values of CRP were significantly higher in patients with cardioembolic stroke compared with atherothrombotic large vessel and lacunar stroke, in patients who died in the first 30 days from the acute event compared with survivors. LOS and physical disability score rose with increasing values of CRP for all subtypes of stroke. Higher CRP values were associated with the 12-month re-hospitalization for cerebrovascular events, whereas it did not influence the 12-month cumulative re-hospitalization and 12-month mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Elevation of CRP values at hospital admission could represent a negative prognostic index in elderly patients with ischaemic stroke, in particular, for short-term prognosis.