Predictors of in-hospital mortality after ischemic stroke: A prospective, single-center study

Stroke is the second leading cause of death around the globe. Studies examining the predictors of in-hospital mortality and the impact of complications on early outcome of acute ischemic stroke are scant. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of in-hospital mortality in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

This was a prospective, single-center study of patients with acute ischemic stroke consecutively admitted to the Neurology Department of a general hospital during a 2-year period (from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011). Prospective data from this single-center study included variables related to sociodemographics, comorbidities, and medical complications, together with in-hospital mortality. Since stroke mortality may impact differently by sex and is also influenced by hospital length of stay, we proceeded to stratify by these variables.

Six-hundred and seventy-three patients were included. Overall, in-hospital mortality rate was 7.13%. Stratifying by length of stay in-hospital (< 7 days and ≥ 7 days), we observed that within the first week, overall mortality was related to a history of previous stroke, higher stroke severity, and to cardiovascular and respiratory complications. After 7 days, the main factor independently associated with overall in-hospital mortality was stroke severity (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) ≥ 14, odds ratio (OR): 17.15; 95% CI, 3.06-96.07).Stratifying by sex, we observed that females had a worse outcome if there was a history of prior stroke (OR: 3.29; 95% CI, 1.19-9.10), higher stroke severity (NIHSS ≥ 14, OR: 16.63; 95% CI, 4.66-59.31), and cardiovascular complications (OR: 29.70; 95% CI, 5.70-154.8). Among men, stroke severity (NIHSS ≥ 14, OR: 23.19; 95% CI, 5.69-94.56), respiratory infections (OR: 3.84; 95% CI, 1.32-11.20), and older age had significant negative impact.

Stroke severity and potentially modifiable complications (respiratory infections and cardiovascular complications) confer an increased risk of in-hospital death in both women and men, particularly during the first week of admission.