Background C-reactive protein (CRP) is one systemic biomarker of inflammation that has been linked to poor outcomes after ischemic stroke. This research was conducted to evaluate the capability of the admission CRP level as the predictor of a short-term outcomes (7-day mortality) in individuals with acute ischemic stroke. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was done in Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences and Post Graduate Institute, Indore, India and lasted 18 months. It comprised 170 patients afflicted with acute ischemic stroke, whose condition was identified during 72 hours after the onset of symptoms. CRP was measured at admission and the mortality at 7-day was monitored. The SPSS software was used to determine the correlation between the CRP levels and mortality by means of statistical analysis. Results: The average level of CRP among the 26 patients that died within a seven-day period was significantly high (23.69 mg/L) compared to the survivors (13.66 mg/L). A much greater mortality was seen at CRP levels of more than 20 mg/L. As well, hypertension and diabetes, and the history of a previous stroke were frequent risk factors but failed to outweigh the importance of CRP level as a separate predictor. Conclusions: High CRP levels on admission are very closely linked with early mortality of patients with ischemic stroke. The study supports the utility of CRP as a biomarker in the early stratification of risk in ischemic stroke, because it is easy to measure, inexpensive and simple compared to other forms of biomarkers especially in the limited resource environments.

Ischemic Stroke, C-Reactive protein, Mortality, Early Risk Stratification, Biomarkers