D-dimer levels in young patients with ischemic stroke: A clinical report

Objective: This clinical report investigates the role of D-dimer in young ischemic stroke patients and its association with stroke severity assessed by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and functional outcomes evaluated using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Subject and method: We conducted a prospective study on 35 young patients (aged under 46) diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke at 108 Military Central Hospital in Ha Noi from October 2022 to April 2023. Each patient underwent thorough clinical evaluation, including a detailed medical history, physical examination, and neuroimaging studies. D-dimer levels were measured within 24 hours of admission using standard laboratory assays. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to mRS scores or NIHSS scores evaluated on the first day inhospital. Result: We observed that plasma D-dimer level correlated significantly with the prognosis of acute cerebral infarction (ACI) evaluated based on both mRS scores (1526.58 ± 1462.51ng/mL for poor prognosis versus 348.22 ± 201.14ng/mL for good prognosis, p<0.05) and NIHSS scores (1962.00 ± 1578.50ng/mL for poor prognosis versus 501.93 ± 663.10ng/mL for good prognosis, p<0.05). Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that there is a significant correlation between elevated D-dimer levels and worsened functional outcomes and increased mortality in young patients with acute ischemic stroke.