Correlation between plasma fibrinogen and acute stroke

 

 

Abstract              Background: Stroke is a major global health problem caused by the interruption of blood supply to the brain because a blood vessel may burst or get blocked by a clot which cuts off the supply of oxygen and nutrients to brain causing brain tissue damage. Worldwide, stroke is the second leading cause of mortality and the third leading cause of disability.1 Over the past twenty years, crude stroke prevalence ranged from 44.29 to 559/100,000 persons in different parts of India. In India, the cumulative incidence of stroke ranged from 105 per lakh to 152 per lakh persons per year during the past twenty years in various regions of the country. Aim and Objectives: To detect plasma fibrinogen levels in patients with acute stroke. To compare and correlate the significance of plasma fibrinogen levels in patients with acute stroke with that of age, sex and risk factors matched controls. Material and Methods: A hospital-based, analytical case-control study was conducted in New Government General Hospital, Vijayawada among fifty consecutive patients who were admitted with acute stroke. Patients who presented with acute stroke within 24 hours of onset of symptoms and among whom CT scan shows cerebral infarct or hemorrhage were included. The study was conducted between November 2016 and April 2018 and compared with 50 controls not suffering from a stroke with matched age, sex and risk factors (controls). A detailed history was taken to identify the risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, smoking and alcohol consumption. November 2017 American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines criteria were used to diagnose Hypertension. Diabetes was diagnosed by the American Diabetes Association guidelines and smoking recorded in terms of number of cigarette pack-years smoked. The data obtained was entered in Microsoft Excel and analyzed in SPSS version-22 trial. The comparison of data was made by “t-Test Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances”. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Out of the total of 50 patients, 42 had an ischemic stroke, and 8 had a hemorrhagic stroke. Mean plasma fibrinogen level amongst cases was in cases under study was 637.4 ± 174.505 mg% and the mean plasma fibrinogen in controls under the present study was 292.72 ± 86.0944 mg% Conclusion: Plasma fibrinogen levels are significantly elevated in patients with strokes when compared to age, sex and risk factor matched controls. This study has demonstrated increased plasma fibrinogen levels in patients with acute stroke as compared to controls. Plasma fibrinogen levels found elevated in both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. Plasma fibrinogen levels rise as age advances. Hypertension and smoking do influence plasma fibrinogen levels.

Keywords: Fibrinogen, stroke.