Influence of acute post-stroke pneumonia on short-term prognosis of acute stroke: a prospective study / 中华神经医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the influence of acute post-stroke pneumonia on short-term prognosis of acute stroke. Methods A prospective, observational study of inpatients with acute stroke,admitted to our hospital from January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2010, was carried out. All the selected patients were divided into pneumonia group and non-pneumonia group. Neurological deficit (NIHSS), disability (modified Rankin Scale, mRS) and activity of daily living (Barthel Index, BI) between these 2 groups were compared on the day of admission and the 21st day of admission; the incidence of other complications, the mortality rate, the hospital length of stay (LOS), and the total costs of hospitalization and drugs between these 2 groups were compared. Results The improvement (NIHSS) in pneumonia group (-[1.04±1.20]) was less significant than that in non-pneumonia group (-[1.37±2.48]), but their differences were not statistically significant (P=0.663); the improvement (mRS and BI, respectively) in pneumonia group (-[0.12±0.33], 3.00±6.55) was obviously less significant than that in non-pneumonia group (-[0.64±0.82], 14.70±19.45, P＜0.05). The incidences of other complications and mortality rate in pneumonia group were significantly higher than those in non-pneumonia group (80.0% vs. 19.0%, 16.7%vs. 2.5%, P＜0.05). As compared with those in patients of pneumonia group, patients of non-pneumonia group had shorter LOS[(23±11) d vs. (35±17) d, P＜0.05], less total costs ofhospitalization[(4867±1648)$ vs. (8509±4425)$, P＜0.05] and less drug costs [(2168±795)$ vs. (4089±2709)$, P＜0.05].Conclusion Acute post-stroke pneumonia was an important factor that leads to increased acute stroke mortality rate, poor short-term clinical prognosis, prolonged LOS and increased treatment costs.