title: Previous statins treatment and risk of post-stroke infections.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Clinical and laboratory studies have attributed an inmuno-supressor effect to the statins. Furthermore, the administration of simvastatin in the acute onset of stroke has been associated with an increased infection frequency. Our objective is to assess the influence of statins previous treatment on infection after ischemic stroke.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational study of patients with ischaemic stroke hospitalised in a Stroke Unit. Demographic data, vascular risk factors, stroke severity, stroke subtype and previous statins treatment were evaluated. The following infections were registered: pneumonia, urinary tract infection, pseudomembranous colitis and sepsis. The patients were classified into two groups, depending on previous statin treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 2045 patients were included (1165 were male, aged 69.05±12.5 years). Of these, 306 (15%) patients were receiving statins prior to stroke. These patients had more frequently arterial hypertension, DM, peripheral arterial disease and hypercholesterolaemia than the patients who were not treated with statins (P<0001). There was no statistically significant difference between overall in-hospital infection frequency between patients treated with statins and those with no statins treatment, (11.8% vs. 13%), nor in individual infection type: pneumonia (7.8% vs. 10.2%), urinary tract infection (4.2% vs. 2.8%), pseudomembranous colitis (0.3% vs. 0.7%) and sepsis (2.6% vs. 4.4%). In the atherothrombotic stroke subtype, statins were associated with a lower frequency of sepsis (unadjusted OR, 0.949; 95% CI; 0.928-0.971).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Previous treatment with statins does not appear to influence the frequency of in-hospital infections in patients with ischaemic stroke.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ictus, Servicio de Neurología, Área de Neurociencias IdiPAZ, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Rodríguez de Antonio
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martínez-Sánchez
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Martínez-Martínez
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cazorla-García
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sanz-Gallego
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fuentes
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Díez-Tejedor
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007239:Infections / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000188:drug therapy*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors