Reduced risk of poststroke pneumonia in thrombolyzed stroke patients with continued statin treatment

Onlinelibrary.wiley.com: 9/13/12

Overall, 481 ischemic stroke patients were analyzed. Continued statin use was documented in 17% of the patients. Frequency of pneumonia was 11%. Patients with statin use were less likely to develop poststroke pneumonia (5% vs. 13%, P = 0·04). After multivariable adjustment for known risk factors for poststroke pneumonia (age, stroke severity, dysphagia, male sex and diabetes), statin treatment was negatively associated with pneumonia (OR 0·31; 95% CI 0·10–0·94). Occurrence of pneumonia independently predicted three-month mortality and functional outcome. Read more