Alteration of Thyroid Hormone among Patients with Ischemic Stroke visiting a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Stroke is broadly classified as cerebral infarction, intracerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Neuroendocrine profile is altered in acute ischemic stroke and there is a link between hypothyroidism and atherosclerosis which in turn may lead to stroke. The objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of alteration of thyroid hormones in patients with ischemic stroke in a tertiary care center.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from June to December 2019 in a tertiary care center. Ethical approval was taken from Institutional review board of National Academy of Medical Sciences (reference number: IM 175). Patients with a diagnosis of stroke, without evidence of cardioembolic source, history of liver disease, renal failure and thyroid disease and who do not use thyroidal supplementation within 180 days prior the event were included. Convenience sampling was done. Data was entered in Microsoft Excel and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22. Point estimate at 90% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and percentage for binary data.

Results: The prevalence of altered thyroid levels among 73 patients was 13 (17.8%) (90% Confidence Interval= 10.44-25.16). Among them 11 (15.1%) were hypothyroid and 2 (2.7%) were hyperthyroid. Among severity of hypothyroid cases, subclinical hypothyroidism grade IA was seen in 51 (70%), subclinical hypothyroidism grade IB was seen in 22 (30%).

Conclusions: The prevalence of altered thyroid levels among patients undergoing ischemic stroke was similar to the findings of other international studies.