Elevated total homocysteine predicts in-hospital pneumonia and poor functional outcomes in acute ischemic stroke

Background The impact of elevated total homocysteine (tHcy) on functional outcomes and pneumonia after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is still not well understood. We investigated the association between tHcy levels upon hospital admission and in-hospital short-term outcomes in AIS patients. Methods A total of 2,084 AIS patients enrolled from December 2013 to May 2014 across 22 hospitals in Suzhou city were included in the present study. We divided patients into 4 groups according to their level of admission tHcy: Q1 (<9.70 umol/L), Q2 (9.70-12.3 umol/L), Q3 (12.3-16.9 umol/L), and Q4 (≥16.9 umol/L). Logistic regression models were used to estimate the effect of tHcy on the short-term outcomes, including in-hospital pneumonia, all cause in-hospital mortality and poor outcome upon discharge (modified Rankin Scale score ≥3) in AIS patients. Results During hospitalization, 332 patients (15.9%) had pneumonia, 57 patients (2.7%) died from all causes and 784 (37.6%) patients experienced poor outcome at discharge. The risk of in-hospital pneumonia was significantly higher in patients with highest tHcy level (Q4) compared to those with lowest (Q1) (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-2.33; P -trend =0.019). The highest tHcy level (Q4) was associated with a 3.35-fold and 1.50-fold increase in the risk of in-hospital mortality(adjusted OR 3.35; 95% CI, 1.11–10.13; P -trend =0.015) and poor outcome upon discharge(adjusted OR 1.50; 95% CI, 1.06–2.12; P -trend =0.044) in comparison to Q1 after adjustment for potential covariates including pneumonia. Subgroup analyses further confirmed a significant association between higher tHcy levels and a high risk of short-term outcomes. Conclusions Having a high admission tHcy level was independently associated with in-hospital pneumonia, all cause in-hospital mortality and poor outcome upon discharge in AIS patients. Moreover, the association between higher tHcy and poor functional outcome was not modified by pneumonia.