Plasma Thrombomodulin Levels and Ischemic Stroke

Background and Objectives Thrombomodulin has been suggested to be implicated in ischemic stroke because of its anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, and cytoprotective properties. We aimed to investigate the associations of plasma thrombomodulin levels with clinical outcomes after ischemic stroke in a multicenter prognostic cohort study.

Methods Our multicenter prognostic cohort study included 3,532 Chinese ischemic stroke patients from the China Antihypertensive Trial in Acute Ischemic Stroke. All patients were followed up at 3 months after ischemic stroke onset. The primary outcome was the composite outcome of death and major disability (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score ≥3) at 3 months after ischemic stroke. Secondary outcomes included major disability (mRS score 3–5), vascular events, and the ordered 7-level categorical score of the mRS.

Results During 3 months of follow-up, 867 participants experienced the primary outcome. After multivariate adjustment, the adjusted odds ratios or hazard ratios associated with the highest quartile of plasma thrombomodulin were 0.75 (95% CI 0.59–0.97; p_trend = 0.029) for the primary outcome, 0.73 (95% CI 0.56–0.94; p_trend = 0.028) for major disability, and 0.80 (95% CI 0.42–1.51; p_trend = 0.232) for vascular events. In addition, a significantly better shift in the distribution of the mRS score was observed with higher thrombomodulin quartiles (p_trend = 0.005). A multivariable-adjusted spline regression model showed a linear relationship between plasma thrombomodulin and the risk of primary outcome (p for linearity = 0.027). Subgroup analyses further confirmed these associations.

Discussion Increased plasma thrombomodulin levels at baseline were associated with decreased risks of adverse clinical outcomes at 3 months after ischemic stroke, suggesting a protective role of thrombomodulin in the development of ischemic stroke. Further studies from various populations are needed to replicate our findings.