Objective: To identify potentially treatable clinical risk factors responsible for poor outcome in acute stroke patients with urinary incontinence.
Material and methods: All acute stroke patients admitted to our hospital within a 12-month period were considered for inclusion in this observational prospective study. Their clinical details were recorded prospectively during the hospital stay and at 3 months.
Results: Two hundred and fifteen patients with complete records were enrolled in the study. After adjusting for age, disability, and comorbidity, urinary incontinence at admission was a significant predictor of stroke death at 3 months [hazard ratio 2.8 (95% CI 1.3 5.8), P = 0.006]. Stroke patients incontinent of urine were malnourished and had an increased risk of infective complications during the hospital stay compared with those without incontinence.
Conclusion: Part of the poor outcome associated with incontinence of urine after acute stroke may be due to treatable conditions such malnutrition and infections.