Correlation of Serum Total Bilirubin Levels and the Severity of Acute Ischemic Stroke / 대한뇌혈관외과학회지

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated whether serum total bilirubin levels were related to large artery atherosclerosis (LAA), classified by the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) classification, and stroke severity at admission in acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: We analyzed clinical features, laboratory tests, and radiologic findings such as brain MRI and MR angiography of patients admitted to our hospital within 24 hours of the onset of ischemic stroke between January 2004 and June 2007. By TOAST classification, 237 patients [115 with LAA and 122 with small artery occlusion (SAO)] were selected. We divided serum total bilirubin levels into three groups Low (15). RESULTS: Total bilirubin levels were significantly higher in the Mild group than other groups, and high-sensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP) levels were significantly higher in the Severe group than other groups in LAA. There were no differences for these factors in SAO. We found a significant correlation between total bilirubin levels and stroke severity in LAA (p=0.005). CONCLUSION: Higher serum total bilirubin levels were associated with lower stroke severity at admission in LAA but not SAO.