Some inflammatory diseases linked to stroke-associated pneumonia

(HealthDay)—For patients discharged after acute ischemic stroke (AIS), the risk for stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) is reduced for those with psoriasis or other chronic inflammatory diseases, according to a study published in the April issue of the Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases.

Layne Dylla, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, and colleagues examined the correlation between chronic inflammatory diseases and SAP using data from the 2015 to 2017 National Inpatient Sample. Hospital discharges with a diagnosis of AIS were classified as having ulcerative colitis, Crohn disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosus, other chronic inflammatory diseases, multiple chronic inflammatory diseases, or none.

The researchers found that among AIS discharges, the risk for SAP was reduced among those with psoriasis or other chronic inflammatory diseases compared with those without psoriasis and other chronic inflammatory diseases, respectively (adjusted odds ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 0.70 [0.63 to 0.99] and 0.64 [0.46 to 0.89], respectively). Reduced in-hospital mortality was seen in association with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and other chronic inflammatory diseases (adjusted odds ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 0.89 [0.78 to 1.00], 0.77 [0.59 to 1.00], and 0.69 [0.50 to 0.94], respectively).

"This study identifies a variable association between individual chronic inflammatory diseases and stroke-associated pneumonia," the authors write. "Specifically, psoriasis and other inflammatory spondyloarthropathies (ankylosing spondylitis, polymyalgia rheumatica) may be protective from stroke-associated pneumonia, whereas, these in addition to rheumatoid arthritis may be associated with decreased risk of in-hospital mortality."

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