Systemic inflammatory response depends on initial stroke severity but is attenuated by successful thrombolysis

To determine whether body temperature, c-reactive protein (CRP), and white blood cell (WBC) count within the first days after stroke onset correlate with infarct size and stroke severity, and to examine whether successful thrombolysis reduces poststroke inflammation.

Out of 1500 consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients, 346 cases (43 patients with thrombolysis) were selected according to the following criteria: admission to hospital < or =24 hours after event, absence of prestroke and poststroke infectious disease, no intracerebral hemorrhage or brain stem stroke, and data availability. Body temperature, WBC within 3 days, and CRP within 5 days of event were determined daily. Lesion volume was measured by planimetry on computed tomography or MRI scans. Successful thrombolysis was defined as improvement on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale of > or =4 points within 24 hours.

Increase of inflammatory parameters correlated significantly with lesion volume and stroke severity. This was shown for body temperature on days 2 and 3 (P<0.001), CRP on days 1 to 5 (P<0.05), and WBC on days 1 to 3 (P<0.01). Patients with successful thrombolysis had reduced body temperature on day 3, WBC on days 2 and 3, and CRP on days 3 to 5 (P<0.05).

Patients with a larger stroke volume and more severe stroke deficits have higher body temperature, CRP, and WBC count in the acute phase after stroke. Successful thrombolysis is related to a significantly attenuated inflammatory response.