Eosinopenia as a Predictive Factor of the Short-Term Risk of Mortality and Infection after Acute Cerebral Infarction

Background: Eosinopenia has been shown to be a prognostic factor in bacteremia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and myocardial infarction, but studies focusing on cerebral infarction are lacking. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 405 patients admitted to the Asahi General Hospital from June 2011 to September 2014 with a diagnosis of cerebral infarction within 24 hours after symptom onset. Differences in mortality, mortality associated with infection, and the prevalence of infection within 2 months of hospital admission were assessed between patients with and without eosinopenia at presentation. Results: Patients with eosinopenia had a significantly higher mortality rate (hazard ratio (HR) 2.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.17-5.21, P = .01), mortality associated with infection (HR 28.7, 95% CI 4.9-542.2, P < .0001), and an increased prevalence of infection (HR 1.83, 95% CI 1.12-2.89, P = .01) than patients without eosinopenia. Patients with neutrophilia and eosinopenia showed a significantly higher mortality rate than patients without neutrophilia (HR 3.15, 95% CI 1.40-6.92, P = .007), whereas patients with neutrophilia without eosinopenia showed no significant difference in mortality compared with patients without neutrophilia (HR 1.57, 95% CI.56-3.93, P = .37). Eosinopenia was a significant risk factor in 2-month mortality rate in multivariate analyses (HR 2.34, 95% CI 1.05-4.95, P = .04). Conclusions: Eosinopenia is a novel predictive factor for complications after acute cerebral infarction. Stroke patients with eosinopenia should be monitored carefully for infection. (C) 2016 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.