Risk factors for early death in acute ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage: A prospective hospital-based study in Asia. Asian Acute Stroke Advisory Panel

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In Asia, there has been no international study to investigate the risk factors for early death in patients with ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage.

METHODS: We conducted a prospective study of consecutive patients with acute stroke who were admitted to 36 participating hospitals in China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. With the use of a simple identical data sheet, we recorded the demographics and cardiovascular risk factors of each patient. Early death was defined as death on discharge from the acute hospital.

RESULTS: We enrolled 2403 patients with ischemic stroke and 783 patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. Among patients with ischemic stroke, previous use of antiplatelet drugs (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0. 30 to 0.95) and relatively young age group 56 to 75 years (OR 0.65; 95% CI 0.42 to 1.00) were protective factors; atrial fibrillation (OR 2.23; 95% CI 1.40 to 3.57), ischemic heart disease (OR 2.03; 95% CI 1.37 to 3.05), diabetes (OR 1.52; 95% CI 1.04 to 2.22), and ex-smoker status (OR 2.18; 95% CI 1.18 to 4.05) were risk factors for early death. Among patients with intracerebral hemorrhage, hypertension (OR 0.56; 95% CI 0.38 to 0.82) and young age group 56 to 75 years old (OR 0.55; 95% CI 0.34 to 0.87) were associated with lower death rate, whereas diabetes (OR 1.74; 95% CI 1.01 to 2.98) was a risk factor for early death.

CONCLUSIONS: In Asian patients with stroke, previous use of antiplatelet drugs nearly halved the risk of early death in patients with ischemic stroke, whereas atrial fibrillation, ischemic heart disease, diabetes, and ex-smoker status were risk factors for early death. Among patients with intracerebral hemorrhage, diabetes was associated with early death, whereas young age group and hypertension were associated with lower death rates, though no clear explanation for the hypertension association could be discerned from the data available.