Relationship between serum calcium level and severity of acute ischaemic stroke

Background: Stroke is amongst the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Nearly 350,000 new cases of stroke per year are seen in Pakistan. The prognosis of patient depends mainly on the severity of the stroke. In this study we evaluated serum calcium as a marker of severity of ischemic stroke Study design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Department of Medicine, Chaudhary Rehmat Ali Memorial Trust Hospital, Lahore. Duration: 1-3-2017 to 31-8-2017. Data collection: 132 patients of acute ischaemic stroke presented within 72 hours were included. Stroke was diagnosed as new onset focal neurologic deficit and plain computed tomography showing ischemic infarct. Severity of stroke was assessed using NIHSS. Patients' serum calcium, albumin and renal function tests were recorded in the study proforma. SPSS version 22 was used for data analysis. Correlation between serum calcium level and stroke severity was determined by calculating Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: The mean calcium level was 8.74 +/- 0.58mg/dl. About 40(30.3%) patients had serum calcium level <8.7 mg/dl, 35 (26.5%) had calcium=8.71-9.00mg/dl, 25 (18.9%) had calcium= 9.01-9.30mg/dl andcalcium > 9.30mg/dlin 32 (24.2%) patients. Pearson Correlation coefficient was calculated to be r = -0.318. Conclusion: Lowe rcalcium levels has very weak correlation with severity of ischaemic stroke as determined via NIHSS score.