title: Effect of haemoglobin levels on cerebral infarct subtypes at high altitude.
abstract: In a prospective observational study of haemoglobin (Hb) values of Saudi nationals presenting to Assir Central Hospital, Abha (altitude 2500m) with first-ever acute cerebral infarction, the mean Hb concentration and the proportion of patients with subcortical infarct (SCI) who had Hb values of 14.5g/dl or greater (high normal Hb group), were compared with those of cortical infarct (COI) patients and controls. Thirty-six (22.8%) of 158 patients had SCI and 122 had COI. The mean Hb of SCI patients was 15.2g/dl compared with 14.7g/dl for age and sex matched controls (p = 0.16; NS) and 14.5 g/dl for COI patients (p = 0.10; NS). However, a significantly greater proportion of SCI patients (72%) had high normal Hb values compared with 51% of COI patients (p = 0.02). The difference between the proportion of SCI patients (72%) who had high normal Hb and that of controls (64%) was not significant (p = 0.58). There was a small but significantly increased risk of experiencing SCI as against COI if a patient's Hb value was in the high normal range (odds ratio 2.5; 95% Confidence Interval 1.1 to 5.7 for combined male and female data and 3.8; 95% CI, 1.02 to 13.77 for male patients).
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Longe
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: al-Ghamdi
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000531:Altitude; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000097:blood* / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012529:Saudi Arabia
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins