ABSTRACT
Objective : Serum albumin is important marker in all aspects of stroke care including rehabilitation. We examined the serum albumin level of stroke patients, and investigated the relation between their serum albumin level and their prognosis. Methods : The serum albumin levels of 295 patients enrolled from 2008 to 2014 were sequentially checked in our hospital and in subsequent rehabilitation hospitals. Functional outcome was measured by functional independence measure (FIM) at the time of discharge from the rehabilitation hospital. Results : In all types (cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)) of apoplexy, serum albumin levels were the highest at the time of admission, temporarily declined after admission, and almost recovered at the time of discharge. In SAH, the serum albumin levels deteriorated at a greater rate than in other types of stroke. In cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage, the lowest serum albumin level was positively correlated with FIM at the time of discharge from the rehabilitation hospital (<i>p</i><0.001). But, in SAH, there was no significant correlation between the lowest serum albumin level and FIM at the time of discharge (<i>p</i>=0.844). Conclusion : Our data suggest that serum albumin level is associated with the outcome of stroke patients, except for SAH patients. Serum albumin level should be one of the prognostic factors used in stroke patients, but we should consider that SAH patients are exceptional because of other neurological complications.