title: Infectious disease is the most common cause of death among stroke patients: two-years of follow-up.
abstract: Stroke represents the second common cause of death in adults. Objective It was to evaluate the incidence and causes of mortality after 30 days in a group of patients with an atherothrombotic ischemic stroke who were followed-up for a period of up to two years. Methods We analyzed retrospectively the medical records of patients with ischemic stroke, who did not undergo thrombolysis, of the Santa Marcelina Hospital. We applied a research protocol to obtain information about risk factors and the etiology of death. Results They were followed 337: mean age was 66.6 years (SD 9.05) and 43.9% were females. The mortality rate was 11.9% with most deaths (37.5%) occurring due to infectious causes. The age was correlated with the risk of death, which was five times higher in patients older than 80. Conclusion The most important cause of death after 30 days was infectious disease, and advanced age was predictor of mortality among patients with an atherothrombotic stroke etiology.
authors.forename: Michel Ferreira
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.forename: Sonia Maria Dozzi
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Brucki
authors.forename: Catarina Falleiros
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Nogueira
authors.forename: Maria Sheila Guimarães
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Rocha
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000401:mortality*; D013997:Time Factors