Association of higher triglyceride-glucose index and triglyceride-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio with early neurological deterioration after thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke patients.

Background: Insulin resistance (IR) can predict the prognosis of patients suffering from cerebrovascular disorders. The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and triglyceride-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio have been confirmed to be easy and reliable indicators of IR. However, the relationships between the TyG index or TG/HDL-C ratio and early neurological deterioration (END) after thrombolysis in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) are uncertain.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 1,187 patients diagnosed with AIS who underwent intravenous thrombolysis between January 2018 and February 2024 was performed. Post-thrombolysis END was defined as an increase in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of ≥4 within 24 h after thrombolysis. Logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the relationships of the TyG index and TG/HDL-C ratio with post-thrombolysis END. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to assess the ability of the TyG index and TG/HDL-C ratio to discriminate post-thrombolysis END.

Results: Among the 1,187 recruited patients, 179 (15.08%) were diagnosed with post-thrombolysis END, and 1,008 (84.92%) were diagnosed with non-END. A binary logistic regression model indicated that the TyG index (odds ratio [OR], 2.015; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.964-2.414,  = 0.015) and TG/HDL-C ratio (OR, 1.542; 95% CI, 1.160-2.049,  = 0.004) were independent factors for post-thrombolysis END. The area under the curve (AUC) values for the TyG index, TG/HDL-C ratio, and TyG index combined with the TG/HDL-C ratio for post-thrombolysis END were 0.704, 0.674, and 0.755, respectively.

Conclusion: This study indicates that the TyG index and TG/HDL-C ratio can be used as prognostic factors to predict post-thrombolysis END.