Preventive antibacterial therapy in acute ischemic stroke: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Pneumonia is a major risk factor of death after acute stroke. In a mouse model, preventive antibacterial therapy with moxifloxacin not only prevents the development of post-stroke infections, it also reduces mortality, and improves neurological outcome significantly. In this study we investigate whether this approach is effective in stroke patients.

Preventive antibacterial treatment improves the general medical and neurological outcome in a mouse model of stroke.

Background And Purpose: Epidemiological studies have demonstrated a high incidence of infections after severe stroke and their prominent role in morbidity and mortality in stroke patients. In a mouse model, it has been shown recently that stroke is coupled with severe and long-lasting immunosuppression, which is responsible for the development of spontaneous systemic infections. Here, we investigated in the same model the effects of preventive antibiotic treatment on survival and functional outcome of experimental stroke.

Stroke-induced immunodeficiency promotes spontaneous bacterial infections and is mediated by sympathetic activation reversal by poststroke T helper cell type 1-like immunostimulation.

Infections are a leading cause of death in stroke patients. In a mouse model of focal cerebral ischemia, we tested the hypothesis that a stroke-induced immunodeficiency increases the susceptibility to bacterial infections. 3 d after ischemia, all animals developed spontaneous septicemia and pneumonia.