Abstract WP289: The Impact of Infection on Neurological Deterioration and Outcome in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients
Introduction: To date, few studies have assessed the influence of infection on neurological deterioration (ND) and other outcome measures in acute ischemic stroke. Methods: Patients admitted to our stroke center (07/08-12/10) were retrospectively assessed. Patients were excluded if they had an in-hospital stroke, unknown time of symptom onset, or delay from symptom onset to hospital arrival >48 hours. Positive blood or urine culture, or chest x-ray consistent with pneumonia were classified as infection and stratified according to whether the infection was diagnosed within the first 24 hours of admission or after 24 hours. ND was defined as an increase ≥2 points on the NIHSS score within a 24hr period. Poor functional outcome was defined as a mRS score of 3-6 on discharge. Results: Of the 334 patients included in this study, 78 had an infection (19 on admission). The majority of infections were found in the urinary tract (64%), while pneumonia (37%) and bacteremia (24%) were also common. Infection on admission was predictive of ND (Table 1; OR=2.79, 95% CI 1.18-6.64, p=0.0211) and poor functional outcome (OR=3.0, 95% CI 1.1-7.9, p=0.0182). Developing an infection during acute hospitalization was an even stronger predictor of ND (OR=11.9, 95% CI 5.8-24.5, p<0.0001) and poor functional outcome (OR=56.4, 95% CI 7.7-414, p<0.0001). After adjusting for age, NIHSS at baseline and glucose on admission, the development of an infection during acute hospitalization remained a significant predictor of ND (OR=8.9, 95% CI 4.2-18.6, p<0.0001) and poor functional outcome (OR=41.7, 95% CI 5.2-337.9, p=0.005) while an infection on admission was no longer predictive of ND (OR=1.5, 95%CI 0.59-3.99, p=0.3738) or poor functional outcome (OR=1.09, 95%CI 0.3-3.9, p=0.8984). Conclusion: Our data suggest that ischemic stroke patients who develop an infection during their acute hospitalization are at increased odds of experiencing ND and of being discharged with significant disability.