Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) – defined as the presence of two or more of the following: body temperature less than 36°C or greater than 38°C; heart rate greater than 90; respiratory rate greater than 20; or white blood cell count less than 4000/mm or greater than 12,000/mm or more than 10 percent bands for more than 24 hours – is an inflammatory process associated with poor outcomes in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. Ms. Amelia K. Boehme, doctoral candidate in the department of epidemiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), and Dr. Niren Kapoor, resident in the department of neurology, recently undertook a unique study investigating predictors of SIRS in AIS patients treated with intravenous (IV) tissue plasminogen activator (tPA).