Clinical analysis of acute stroke complicated by pulmonary infection: Report of 45 cases

Objective: To investigate the clinical features of acute stroke complicated by pulmonary infection.Methods: One hundred and forty-six cases of acute stroke were included in the study and 45 of them were complicated by pulmonary infection.The infection time,stroke type and the existence of related diseases were observed.Results: The patients with intracerebral hemorrhage had a higher pulmonary infection rate than those with cerebral infarction(P<0.01);lung infection occured most frequently one week after admission;the lung infection rate increased significantly in patients with stroke awareness obstacles(P<0.005);old age,diabetes mellitus,chronic bronchitis,heart disease and history of stroke were all related to pulmonary infection,and the mortality in the infection group was significantly higher than that in non-pulmonary infection group(P<0.005).Conclusions: The pulmonary infection in patients with acute stroke is the result of interaction of varied factors,and active measures should be taken to improve the patients' prognosis.