Affiliations 

  • 1 B B Hamidon, MMed. Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur
  • 2 A A Raymond, FRCP. Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur
Med J Malaysia, 2003 Oct;58(4):499-505.
PMID: 15190624

Abstract

In Malaysia, there is limited information on the mortality and morbidity after an acute stroke in hospitalised patients. The objective of the study was to identify the type, time of onset, and frequency of medical and neurological complications following an acute ischaemic stroke. Consecutive patients with acute ischaemic stroke who were admitted to Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia from June 2000 to January 2001 were observed. The complication rate was 20.9%. The most common individual complication was pneumonia (12.3%), followed by septicaemia (11.0%), urinary tract infection (4.3%), and upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage (3.7%). The overall mean length of stay was 7.48 days. The independent risk factors for complications were diabetes mellitus (OR 2.87; 95%CI 1.06 to 7.78), middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarcts (OR 10.0; 95%CI 4.1 to 24.3), and Glasgow coma score (GCS) less than 9(OR 3.8; 95%CI 1.03 to 14.3). Infection was the commonest complication observed. Patients with diabetes mellitus, poor GCS and large MCA infarcts had a higher risk of developing complications.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.