Elevated Total Homocysteine Predicts In-Hospital Pneumonia and Poor Functional Outcomes in Acute Ischemic Stroke

We investigated the association between elevated total homocysteine (tHcy) levels upon hospital admission and short-term in-hospital outcomes, including pneumonia in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients.

A total of 2,084 AIS patients enrolled from December 2013 to May 2014 across 22 hospitals in Suzhou city were included in the present study. We divided patients into four groups according to their level of admission tHcy: quartile (Q1) (<9.70 umol/L), Q2 (9.70-12.3 umol/L), Q3 (12.3-16.9 umol/L), and Q4 (≥16.9 umol/L). Logistic regression models were used to estimate the effect of tHcy on the short-term outcomes, including in-hospital pneumonia, all-cause in-hospital mortality, and poor outcome upon discharge (modified Rankin Scale score ≥3) in AIS patients.

The risk of in-hospital pneumonia was significantly higher in patients with the highest tHcy level (Q4) compared to those with the lowest tHcy level (Q1) (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-2.33; P-trend =0.019). The highest tHcy level (Q4) was associated with a 3.35-fold and 1.50-fold increase in the risk of in-hospital mortality (OR 3.35; 95% CI, 1.11-10.13; P-trend =0.015) and poor outcome upon discharge (OR 1.50; 95% CI, 1.06-2.12; Ptrend =0.044) in comparison to Q1 after adjustment for potential covariates including pneumonia.

Having a high admission tHcy level was independently associated with in-hospital pneumonia, in-hospital mortality, and poor outcome upon discharge in AIS patients.