Usefulness of NIHSS score as a predictor of non-neurological in-hospital complications in stroke.

Abstract Introduction Patients with stroke are at risk of developing non-neurological in-hospital complications (NNIHC) during hospitalization. The NIHSS is a scale used and validated to determine stroke severity, treatment, and prognosis. We evaluated the relationship between the NIHSS score obtained on admission and the development of NNIHC during hospital stay. Methods Observational study of prospective cohorts. Patients admitted consecutively for stroke, to an intermediate care ward, in Argentina between 08/01/2017 and 02/29/20 were included. The patients were divided into Group 1 (with NNIHC) and Group 2 (without NNIHC). Results The final n consisted of 78 individuals, 41% women. When comparing the means of the NIHSS score, differences were observed between the groups in the development of NNIHC in general (P = .050) and in the following specific complications: dysphagia (P = .014), aspiration pneumonia (P = .006), in-hospital pneumonia (P = .010) and intrahospital urinary infection (P = .004). The cut-off point of 10.5 presented the best predictive performance of NNIHC (AUC = .706; P = .016). Conclusions An NIHSS value ≥10.5 was related to the development of NNIHC in patients admitted for stroke.