Stroke: epidemiology and outcomes

Objective: To determine the frequency of mortality, length of stay and nosocomial pneumonia outcomes, as well as their distribution according to predictor variables, in stroke patients treated at the emergency room of a tertiary hospital. Methods: A retrospective cohort study, with a sample of patients attended between January 1 and December 31, 2018. Based on the data collected in the medical records, the sample was characterized. Therefore, the frequency of each outcome was checked, as well as its distribution according to the predictor variables. Results: The sample population consisted of 210 patients. The frequencies observed in death and nosocomial pneumonia were 17.6% and 17.1%, respectively. The general mean length of stay was 13.8 ±12.9 days. Statistically significant differences were observed both in the occurrence of nosocomial pneumonia and atrial fibrillation (AF); days of hospitalization in intensive care unit; total days of hospitalization; orotracheal intubation; use of nasoenteral tube and surgical procedure secondary to stroke. Morever, there was also the relation of total time of hospitalization regarding dyslipidemia; orotracheal intubation; use of nasoenteral tube and surgical procedure secondary to stroke. Conclusion: The results found in the frequency of mortality, nosocomial pneumonia and mean total number of days of hospitalization are comparable with other Brazilian studies. However, it is possible to optimize the time of care provided for patients who arrive in the emergency room. In addition, the decrease of hospitalization days in dyslipidemic patients and the increase of nosocomial pneumonia in AF patients require further studies to verify such findings