Frequency of Raised C-Reactive Protein in Acute Stroke Patients

Abstract

Objective: Stroke is still one of the most common causes of death in the world. Inflammation is a significant factor in the mechanism and course of stroke. CRP, as a major inflammatory marker, has been widely reported in
cardiovascular diseases; however, its prevalence and significance in acute stroke among our local population are less clear. To characterise the frequency of elevated CRP levels in patients with acute stroke.

Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Department of Neurology, Bolan Medical Complex, Quetta Form June 2025 to August 2025.

Methods: Consecutive sampling was done and 96 patients in the age range of 20-70 years who reported with clinical symptoms of acute stroke (duration 1.7 mg/dl.

Results: Fifty-two (54.2%) of the 96 patients were shown to have elevated CRP levels. Patients mean age was 58.4 ± 9.1 (range, 30-72) years; there were more males than females (60.4%). Ischemic stroke (68.8%) was more
prevalent than hemorrhagic stroke (31.3%). The most common comorbidity was hypertension (72.9%). Elevated CRP was found more frequently in ischemic patients than in haemorrhagic (p=0.03).

Conclusions: This study demonstrated high rate (54.2%) of raised CRP in acute stroke patients indicating the marked inflammatory response to the condition. The significantly higher frequency of elevated CRP in ischemic
stroke compared to haemorrhagic stroke in our cohort provides a novel, clinically relevant insight for our local population. This suggests that the underlying inflammatory burden may differ by stroke aetiology even at
presentation, positioning CRP as a simple, cost-effective biomarker that could aid in initial diagnostic suspicion and inflammatory risk stratification in resource-limited settings like Pakistan.