[The impact of in-hospital pneumonia on the risk of in-hospital and long-term mortality in patients with acute ischemic stroke].

Objective: To observe the short-term and long-term impacts of in-hospital pneumonia on outcomes of patients hospitalized with acute ischemic stroke.

Methods: All consecutive patients older than 18 years with acute ischemic stroke were prospectively recruited to this study, including 132 clinical centers in 32 provinces and 4 municipalities (including Hong Kong region) in China from September 2007 to August 2008. Case report form was designed. Data of pneumonia and survival outcomes at baseline; discharge; 3, 6 and 12 months after admission were recorded. Multivariable logistic regression was used for statistical correlation analysis.

Results: A total of 1373 (11.88%) patients from 11 560 acute ischemic stroke patients were notified with in-hospital pneumonia. The case fatality rate was 14.4% (1664 patients) within 12 months after stroke onset. The fatality rate in patients with pneumonia was higher than that of patients without pneumonia.In-hospital pneumonia was an independent risk factor for death at discharge (adjusted OR = 5.916; 95%CI 4.470-7.831), at 3 months (adjusted OR = 3.641; 95%CI 3.035-4.367), 6 months (adjusted OR = 3.445; 95%CI 2.905-4.086), and 12 months (adjusted OR = 3.543; 95%CI 3.016-4.161) after onset.

Conclusion: In-hospital pneumonia is an adverse factor for the short-term and long-term survival of acute ischemic patients in China.