title: The frequency of poststroke infections and their impact on early stroke outcome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Poststroke infections are the most common medical complications of stroke and can occur in up to 65% of patients. The aim of this study was to assess the rate of infectious complications during hospitalization of stroke patients and to evaluate the impact of infection in general, including each of the urinary tract infection (UTI), pneumonia, and sepsis, on fatal and poor functional outcome at discharge.
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective study enrolled patients who have been diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke treated in a 1-year period. Poor functional outcome at discharge was defined as severe invalidity and included patients with modified Rankin Scale score of 3-5. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We analyzed 133 patients with acute ischemic stroke. Poststroke infection occurred in 63 (47.4%) patients. The most common infection was UTI that was present in 27 (20.3%) patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis after adjustment for confounders demonstrated that poststroke infection was an independent predictor of poor functional outcome (odds ratio [OR] 12.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.09-40.0, P < .001) and death at discharge (OR 14.92, 95% CI 2.97-76.92, P = .001). When analyzing the impact of each infectious complication, multivariate logistic regression showed that UTIs were an independent predictor of poor functional outcome (OR 14.08, 95% CI 3.06-64.84, P = .001) and death (OR 9.81, 95% CI 1.46-65.68, P = .019) at discharge.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Infection is a frequent poststroke complication and represents an independent predictor of poor functional and fatal early stroke outcome.
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Natasa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Popović
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stefanović-Budimkić
authors.forename: Nikola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mitrović
authors.forename: Aleksandar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Urošević
authors.forename: Branko
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Milošević
authors.forename: Mijomir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pelemiš
authors.forename: Djordje
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jevtović
authors.forename: Ljiljana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Beslać-Bumbaširević
authors.forename: Dejana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jovanović
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000209:etiology; D011379:Prognosis; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D018805:Sepsis / Q000209:etiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D013997:Time Factors; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000209:etiology