Anemia on admission predicts short- and long-term outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke

BackgroundIt is still debatable whether anemia predicts stroke outcome.AimTo describe the characteristics of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and anemia and identify whether hemoglobin status on admission is a prognostic factor of AIS outcome.MethodsAll 2439 patients of the Acute Stroke Registry and Analysis of Lausanne (ASTRAL) between January 2003 and June 2011 were selected. Demographics, risk factors, prestroke treatment, clinical, radiological and metabolic variables in patients with and without anemia according to the definition of the World Health Organization were compared. Functional disability and mortality were recorded up to 12 months from admission.ResultsAnemic patients (17·5%) were older, had lower body mass index, higher rates of coronary artery disease (CAD), atrial fibrillation, diabetes mellitus and peripheral artery disease. Anemia was associated with more severe stroke manifestations, lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements, worse estimated glomerular filtrat...