Predictive Value of Serum Inflammatory Factors and FT3 for Stroke-Associated Pneumonia in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke

Objective: The ability of serum inflammatory factors and free triiodothyronine (FT 3 ) in predicting the occurrence of stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) was assessed in this study. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 285 consecutive patients with AIS initially diagnosed and admitted to our hospital from January to December 2022. Patients were categorized into SAP and non-SAP groups based on the presence of SAP. Both groups were compared in terms of baseline characteristics, including National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, SAP risk assessment (A 2 DS 2 ), TOAST classification. Independent risk factors for SAP were identified using multivariate logistic regression analysis, and the predictive value of inflammatory markers was evaluated through ROC curves. Results: Among 285 patients with AIS, 40 (14.03%) were found to have developed SAP. Higher NIHSS and A 2 DS 2 scores, elevated serum IL-1β, IL-8, and IL-33 levels, increased age, atrial fibrillation, swallowing difficulties, and a higher proportion of patients with low FT 3 levels were observed in the SAP group compared with the non-SAP group (all P <0.05). Significant risk factors for SAP in patients with AIS were identified through multivariate logistic regression analysis, including age, swallowing difficulties, NIHSS, A 2 DS 2 , IL-1β , IL-8 , IL-33, and FT 3 ( P <0.05). The highest predictive values were observed for A 2 DS 2 , FT 3 , and IL-8 with AUC values of 0.854, 0.844, and 0.823, respectively. Conclusion: SAP can be highly predicted by A 2 DS 2 , FT 3 , and IL-8, enabling the early identification of patients with high-risk SAP and facilitating timely intervention and treatment.