Serum uric acid as a biomarker in predicting outcome in patients of acute ischemic stroke: A cross-sectional study at limited resources rural setup

Abstract

Background: The role of serum uric acid is controversial when considering it as a risk factor for acute ischemic stroke as it has antioxidant as well as free radical producing properties. This study was conducted to establish a correlation between acute ischemic stroke and serum uric acid levels. We also tried to find the relation between severity and mortality in stroke patients with their serum uric acid levels. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 80 patients of acute ischemic stroke during the period of September 2019 to September 2021 were enrolled. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and Glasgow coma scale (GCS) scores were calculated at the time of admission and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores at a 3-month follow-up period. A correlation of serum uric acid levels with these scores was assessed. Results: Mean serum uric acid level was 5.9 ± 1.5 mg/dL in cases and statistically significant cut-off value of serum uric acid level as 7.35 mg/dL was obtained for labeling patients of acute ischemic stroke as severe according to the NIHSS scale. A cut-off of 5.95 mg/dL was obtained for serum uric acid as an indicator of mortality, according to the mRS scale. Patients with higher NIHSS, mRS scale scores, and poor GCS scores (score 3 to 8) had significantly elevated serum uric acid levels. Conclusion: Serum uric acid can be a noninvasive and cost-effective tool for assessing acute ischemic stroke severity and predict mortality.