High-sensitivity C-reactive protein in stroke patients - The importance in consideration of influence of multiple factors in the predictability for disease severity and death

•hsCRP has been evaluated as a biomarker in stroke.•Controversy issues exist among different studies.•hsCRP predictive values is influenced by multiple factors.•Comprehensive analysis is essential for future study.

High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) has been evaluated as a biomarker in stroke and relevant pathological diseases. While its predictive values in several pathological phenotypes have been confirmed, controversy exists among different studies. This review summarizes reports of the predictive values of hsCRP for the diagnosis, etiology, prognosis and mortality of stroke diseases. The current literature suggests that CRP expression is influenced by multiple factors, such as polymorphisms, the genomic backgrounds and gender. However, few reported studies analyzed data based on all these multiple factors. Future studies should focus on comprehensive analysis based on multiple factors.