Impact of CONUT Score at Admission on Prognosis in Older Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke, Considering Ischemia Area: From Turkey’s Second Region with the Oldest Population

Abstract

Aim: The presence of malnutrition at admission in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients may cause poor outcomes in older patients. There are rare studies showing that Checking Nutritional Status (CONUT) score is a predictor of poor prognosis in AIS patients. We aimed to investigate the impact of CONUT score on the length of hospital stay (LOS) and intensive care need. Materials and Methods: One hundred thirty-one of 230 patients older than 65 years old with a diagnosis of AIS were included. Patients with clinical correlation with diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging examination were accepted as having ischemic stroke and classified by the Bamford classification. CONUT score was assessed within 24 hours after hospital admission. Results: The mean age of patients was 78.15±6.9 years and 55.72% of patients were male, the mean LOS and the mean CONUT scores were 7.4±4.5 and 2.30, respectively. When patients were divided into two groups, as those requiring intensive care and with hospital stay >7 days and those with LOS <7 days, there was a significant difference between the two groups in terms of lymphocyte count, CONUT score, malnutrition level, and Bamford classification (p=0.007, p=0.002, p=0.004, p=0.030, respectively). In the crude regression model, CONUT score was determined to be possible risk factors for poor outcomes [odds ratio (OR): 1.38, p=0.002] and OR was 1.39 (p=0.003) in adjusted model for the Bamford classification. Conclusion: Each unit increase in the CONUT score was associated with a greater risk of poor outcome in older AIS patients. Clinicians’ evaluation of these patients with CONUT scoring may affect the prognosis.

Keywords

• conut score
• acute ischemic stroke
• length of hospital stay
• bamford classification
• older adults