Infectious disease is the most common cause of death among stroke patients: two-years of follow-up

• Main Authors: Michel Ferreira Machado, Sonia Maria Dozzi Brucki, Catarina Falleiros Nogueira, Maria Sheila Guimaraes Rocha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Academia Brasileira de Neurologia (ABNEURO) 2013-06-01
• Series: Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria
• Subjects: acidente vascular cerebral; causa de obito; infeccoes respiratorias
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2013000600371&lng=en&tlng=en

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.