Association of Serum Ferritin Levels with Stroke Severity in Acute Ischemic Stroke Using NIHSS: A Prospective Study.

Background: The hallmark of acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) is the abrupt cessation of blood flow to a region of the brain, usually in a vascular territory, which causes a concomitant decline in neurologic function. Traditionally an iron-storing protein, serum ferritin also serves as an acute-phase reactant and is one of the prognostic markers that have attracted a lot of clinical attention lately. Objective: By examining its relationship to stroke severity and clinical outcomes, this study sought to determine the predictive value of blood ferritin levels in AIS patients. Methods: At a tertiary care hospital, 120 AIS patients who had been verified by neuroimaging participated in a prospective observational study. Levels of serum ferritin were assessed upon admission, day 7, and discharge. Stroke severity was assessed using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Version 26.0. Results: The mean ferritin levels were significantly higher in non-survivors compared to survivors at all time points—admission (353.76 vs. 127.42 ng/mL, p=0.002), day 7 (343.19 vs. 128.56 ng/mL, p<0.001), and discharge (348.29 vs. 130.15 ng/mL, p<0.001). A consistent positive correlation was observed between ferritin levels and stroke severity. Patients with severe strokes (NIHSS 21–42) had the highest ferritin concentrations throughout hospitalization. The mortality rate was 9.2%, and the majority of survivors showed clinical improvement over time. Conclusion: In individuals with acute ischaemic stroke, elevated blood ferritin levels are substantially linked to both increased mortality and greater stroke severity. Ferritin might be a useful, reasonably priced prognostic biomarker for better AIS management and early risk classification. It is advised to do additional multicenter validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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