on April 8, 2004
Published online before print April 8, 2004, doi: 10.1161/01.STR.0000126609.18735.be
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Submitted on December 4, 2003
From Department of Neurology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland. * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dziedzictom{at}mediclub.pl.
Background and Purpose--Animal studies showed that human albumin therapy is strongly neuroprotective in focal ischemia. The aim of our study was to determine if relatively high serum albumin level is associated with decreased risk of poor outcome in ischemic stroke patients. Methods--Seven hundred fifty-nine consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke were included. Functional outcome was measured 3 months after stroke using modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Poor outcome was defined as mRS >3 or death. Serum albumin level was measured within 36 hours after stroke onset. Results--Patients with poor outcome had significantly lower serum albumin level than patients with nonpoor outcome (34.1±7.4 versus 36.8±6.7 g/L). On logistic regression analysis, serum albumin level remained independent predictor of poor outcome (odds ratio [OR]: 0.43; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26 to 0.70). Conclusions--Relatively high serum albumin level in acute stroke patients decreases the risk of poor outcome.
Revised on January 15, 2004
Accepted on February 10, 2004
Serum Albumin Level as a Predictor of Ischemic Stroke Outcome
Tomasz Dziedzic MD, PhD*;
Key words: stroke • cerebral ischemia • outcome • albumins