title: Correlation of serum calcium with severity of acute ischaemic stroke.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the correlation of serum calcium with severity of acute ischaemic stroke.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan, from January to September 2013, and comprised patients who had suffered ischaemic stroke. All patients aged above 18 years who had been diagnosed to have suffered ischaemic stroke through history, physical examination and computed tomography scan, and who were admitted within the first 72 hours of the onset of the illness were included. Serum calcium was obtained within 78 hours of the onset of stroke and the severity of stroke was assessed at the same time using the National Institute of Health Stroke score.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 138 patients, 71(51.4%) were women and 67(48.6%) men. The overall mean age was 61.09±11.93 years (range: 34-100 years). The mean National Institute of Health Stroke score was 17.77±7.73 (range: 2-35). Serum calcium of all patients was measured and adjusted for serum albumin level. The mean serum calcium level was 8.82±0.69 mg/dl (range: 6.84-10.48). Bivariate correlation was calculated for continuous data of serum calcium and National Institute of Health Stroke score. The overall Pearson's correlation coefficient was r= -0.237 (p=0.005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lower serum calcium levels may be associated with more severe clinical findings at the onset of stroke.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishfaq
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Fahim
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ullah
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Saima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akbar
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Fawad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rahim
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Ayesha Khan
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Afridi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002118:Calcium / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium
keywords: Ischaemic stroke, Stroke severity, NIHSS score, Serum calcium.