Association of serum ferritin in patients with acute ischemic stroke in tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: Stroke is a major cause of mortality and morbidity globally. Identifying prognostic markers and mortality predictors is essential for successful intervention and treatment of ischemic stroke. The study aims to examine the role of serum ferritin as a prognostic indicator for stroke severity in conjunction with national institute of health stroke scale (NIHSS) and MRS stroke scales. Furthermore, the association of serum ferritin and several associated risk factors for stroke was also studied. Methods: This study conducted was cross-sectional. 143 patients with acute ischemic stroke who attended the general medicine OPD within 24 hours of admission after the onset of stroke were taken into consideration. Only those patients who matched the inclusion and exclusion criteria were taken for analysis. Acute ischemic stroke patients were admitted with verbal consent, medical background, routine blood, neurological examination, and CT scan, NIHSS scoring, treatment protocols, anti-edema measures, and modified Rankin scale for functional recovery after four weeks. Results: In the present study, 80% were males, and 20% were females. Most study participants were 51-60 years (38%). The mean age is 58.87 years, and the standard deviation is 11.41. About 35% were smokers, 38% were alcoholics, 56% were diabetic, 68% were hypertensives, and 35% had lipid disorders. There is a statistically significant correlation between serum ferritin and the severity of stroke based on the NIHSS scale and the Modified Rankin scale. Conclusions: The study demonstrates the use of serum ferritin as an indicative marker for prognosis patients having an acute ischemic stroke. However, monitoring during follow-up did not show any benefit. The current study glorifies the simplistic use of a serum marker.