FREQUENCY OF STROKE ASSOCIATED PNEUMONIA IN STROKE PATIENTS

Objective: To determine the frequency of stroke associated pneumonia in stroke patients. Methodology: A total of 100 diagnosed stroke cases between 30-70 years of age of either gender were included in the study from July 2017 to December 2017 during six months. We excluded those cases with a history of pneumonia. We performed a complete examination and history of the patients was obtained. All diagnosed cases of stroke were followed till 30 days (either in medical ward/outdoor) for stroke associated pneumonia, with positive finding in chest X-ray and culture of tracheal aspiration. Results: Patients were distributed according to age, which shows that 21.05%(n=60) were between 30-50 years of age while 78.95%(n=225) were between 51-70 years of age, mean+sd was calculated as 56.86+6.81 years, 51.58%(n=147) were male and 48.42%(n=138) were females. Frequency of stroke associated pneumonia in patients with stroke was recorded in 17.89%(n=51) while 82.11%(n=234) had no findings of the morbidity. Conclusion: We concluded that the frequency of stroke associated pneumonia is quite high among stroke patients. However, these cases should be diagnosed early managed accordingly. Key Words: Acute ischemic stroke, stroke associated pneumonia (SAP), association