Prevalence and predictive factors of urinary tract infection among patients with stroke: A meta-analysis

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is thought to be a common complication of stroke and is regarded as a potential risk factor for poor stroke outcomes. However, there is a controversy among predictive factors of stroke-associated UTIs. We aim to estimate the prevalence and predisposing factors of UTIs among patients with stroke.

PubMed, EMBASE, and Elsevier Science Direct were searched by 2 independent researchers. Sixteen studies with a total of 13,513 patients were included to evaluate the prevalence and predictive factors of stroke-associated UTIs published from the earliest records to March 10, 2017. Pooled effect sizes were calculated using the fixed effect model or random effect model according to I² and P values.

The pooled prevalence of UTI was 19.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 15%-22%; P <.01). The predisposing factors for UTIs include female sex (odds ratio [OR], 1.93; 95% CI, 1.55-2.41), older age (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.09-1.50), higher modified Rankin Scale score (OR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.43-2.53), and postvoid residual volume >100 mL (OR, 3.69; 95% CI, 2.09-6.52).

Approximately one-fifth of patients with stroke contracted at least 1 UTI after cerebral apoplexy. Female sex, older age, higher modified Rankin Scale score, and postvoid residual volume >100 mL were associated with higher risk of UTI.