Elevated Plasma Fibrinogen and the Risk of Stroke: A Hospital Based Prospective Case-Control Study in Uyo, Nigeria

Background: Stroke is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally. In recent time, there is increasing evidence that suggest that increased plasma fibrinogen is associated with increased risk of stroke with unfavourable clinical outcome.

Objectives: To determine the plasma fibrinogen levels in stroke patients and compare with healthy controls.

Study Design: The study design was Prospective case- control study.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in the department of Internal Medicine (Neurology Unit) and the department of Haematology between March to August, 2019.

Methodology: A case- control study consisting of 41 patients (21M: 19F) diagnosed with stroke in line with WHO definition and confirmed by CT-Scan of the brain were recruited consecutively into the study. 20 (10M: 10F) healthy age and gender matched consenting adults were used as controls. Plasma fibrinogen was determined for both the patients and controls using ELISA method. Also, socio-demographic and clinical data were collected using questionnaire designed for the study. The level of significance was set at P=.05.

Results: The mean plasma fibrinogen level of 458.0 ± 89.1 was significantly higher in the stroke patients compared to the controls 307.8 ± 61.5 (P<0.001). An increasing level of plasma fibrinogen was observed with increasing age in both the patients and controls. However, this increase was not statistically significant (P=0.98). Also, the plasma fibrinogen level was significantly higher in the female patients (501.21±83.96) than the males 420.59±77.02 (P=0.003).

Conclusion: Plasma fibrinogen was significantly higher in the stroke patients compared to the controls with female patients having a significantly higher levels than males. Also, the plasma fibrinogen levels appear to increase proportionally with increasing age.