Influence of admission body temperature on stroke mortality

Background and Purpose - The influence of body temperature on stroke outcome remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic role of admission body temperature on short-term and long-term mortality in a retrospective cohort study of patients with acute stroke. Methods - A retrospective cohort of 509 patients with acute stroke, admitted to a tertiary hospital between July 1, 1995, and June 30, 1997, was studied. The relationship between admission body temperature and mortality both in- hospital and at 1-year mortality was evaluated. Body temperature on admission was classified as hypothermia (≤36.5°C), normothermia (>36.5°C and ≤37.5°C), and hyperthermia (>37.5°C). Logistic regression and proportional hazards function analysis were performed after adjustment for clinical predictors of stroke outcome. Results - In ischemic stoke, mortality was lower among patients with hypothermia and higher among patents with hyperthermia. The odds ratio for in-hospital mortality in hypothermic versus normothermic patients was 0.1 (95% CI, 0.02 to 0.5). The relative risk for 1- year mortality of hyperthermic versus normothermic patients was 3.4 (95% CI, 1.6 to 7.3). A similar but nonsignificant trend for in-hospital mortality was seen among patients with hemorrhagic stroke. Conclusions - An association between admission body temperature and stroke mortality was noted independent of clinical variables of stroke severity. Hyperthermia was associated with an increase in 1-year mortality. Hypothermia was associated with a reduction in in-hospital mortality.