resulting in the increased excitatory amino acids, and the mechanism of excitatory amino acid-induced stroke.

Objective To investigate the predictive value of D-dimer for early neurological deteriora- tion (END) in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods Patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted to the Department of Neurology, the Second People ' s Hospital of Shenzhen between January 2015 and December 2017 were enrolled retrospectively. END was defined as an increase ≥2 in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score or an increase ≥1 in the motor function score within 7 days after admission compared with the baseline score. Demographics, baseline clinical data, and primary treatment options during hospitalization were compared between the END group and the non-END groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent risk factors for END. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the predictive value of D-dimer for END. Results A total of 625 patients were enrolled in the study, including 40 in the END group (including 3 deaths) and 585 in the non-END group. The mean hospital stay, international normalized ratio, D-dimer, uric acid, NIHSS score and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at admission, and the proportion of patients with complete anterior circulation infarction, large atherosclerotic stroke, and pulmonary infection were significantly higher than those in the non-END group (all P < 0. 05). There was no significant difference in the proportion of patients receiving thrombolysis, antiplatelet,anticoagulation, and statins between the two groups. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve of D-dimer predicting END was 0. 810 (95％ confidence interval [CI] 0. 736-0. 884; P < 0. 001); the optimal cut-off value was 2. 35 mg/L, and the sensitivity and specificity were 54. 74％ and 96. 13％ respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that large atherosclerotic stroke (odds ratio [OR] 1. 115, 95％ CI 1. 005-1. 390; P = 0. 003 ), D-dimer ≥2. 35 mg/L (OR 1. 055,95％ CI 1. 012-1. 150; P = 0. 001 ), NIHSS score at admission (OR 1. 191, 95％ CI 1. 006-1. 410; P <0. 001), mRS score > 1 at admission (OR 1. 755, 95％ CI 1. 139-3. 656; P = 0. 037 ), and pulmonary infection (OR 2. 598, 95％ CI 1. 132-3. 081; P = 0. 012) were the independent risk factors for END in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Conclusion D-dimer ≥2. 35 mg/L at admission has higher predictive value for END in patients with acute ischemic stroke.