STROKE ASSOCIATED PNEUMONIA: RISK FACTORS AND PREDICTING

Stroke is a leading cause of mortality, disability and there are substantial economic costs for post-stroke care. Stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) is an important cause of post-stroke morbidity and mortality. It is a common post-stroke complication, affecting approximately 14% of patients with stroke. Stroke patients suffer from many risk factors for pneumonia such as dysphagia, aspiration, stroke-induced immunodepression syndrome, immobility due to paralysis, impaired consciousness ... The patients with SAP have significantly higher mortality and morbidity as compared to non-SAP patients. Beside it, SAP increases medical cost and length of stay in hospital. The diagnosis of SAP faced many difficulties due to the characteristics of stroke patients: fever, decreased cough, altered mental status, leukocytosis with a left shift ... Despite improvements in acute stroke care, SAP remains the most frequent complication after stroke and is associated with poor outcome. Early identification of patients at high risk for SAP might help to justify increased monitoring and tailored prophylactic measures in clinical routine.

Autorentext

Dr. Duc Dang Phuc obtained Ph.D. in Neuroscience with a thesis of Stroke-Associated Pneumonia (SAP). His prominent publications on SAP include "Risk Factors for Stroke Associated Pneumonia", "A Comparison of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and the Gugging Swallowing Screen in Predicting Stroke-Associated Pneumonia".

Klappentext

Stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) is an important cause of post-stroke morbidity and mortality. Beside it, SAP increases medical cost and length of stay in hospital. SAP is a common post-stroke complication, affecting approximately 14% of patients with stroke. Stroke patients suffer from many risk factors for pneumonia such as dysphagia, aspiration, stroke-induced immunodepression syndrome, immobility due to paralysis, impaired consciousness ... The diagnosis of SAP faced many difficulties due to the characteristics of stroke patients: fever, decreased cough, altered mental status, leukocytosis with a left shift ... Despite improvements in acute stroke care, SAP remains the most frequent complication after stroke and is associated with poor outcome. Early identi cation of patients at high risk for SAP might help to justify increased monitoring and tailored prophylactic measures in clinical routine. Applying standardized scales will help doctors accurately predict the risk of SAP and improve the quality of treatment for stroke patients.