Characterization, outcomes and time to event predictors of urinary tract infections acquired during post-acute stroke inpatient rehabilitation: A comprehensive cohort study.

Objectives: To i) compare baseline clinical and demographic characteristics of post-acute stroke inpatients who were diagnosed with first-time urinary tract infection (UTI) vs inpatients who were not ii) compare rehabilitation outcomes between both groups and iii) examine associations between time to UTI event and risk factors.

Design: Retrospective observational cohort study SETTING: Institution for inpatient neurological rehabilitation.

Participants: Inpatients (n=1683) admitted within 3 months post-stroke to a rehabilitation facility between 2005 and 2023.

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main outcome measures: Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Functional Ambulation Categories (FAC) at admission. Cox proportional hazards models analyzed the association between UTI event timing and risk factors.

Results: Of the (n=1683) included patients, 196 (11.6%) experienced a UTI. In 32.1% of cases, the UTI occurred during the first week after admission to rehabilitation and 47.9% of UTIs occurred during the first two weeks. Median (IQR) time to UTI was 16 (5-37) days since admission. Most common germs were Escherichia coli (40.5%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (23.7%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (6.4%). Patients who acquired a UTI had older age, higher stroke severity, higher proportion of dysphagia, hypertension, neglect, bilateral affectation, atrial fibrillation, hemiplegia, lower levels of functional independence and lower FAC. We identified no differences in sex, type of stroke (ischemic or hemorrhagic), time to admission, aphasia, diabetes, dyslipidemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dominant side affected and educational level between both groups. Patients with UTI presented significantly poorer rehabilitation outcomes including lower discharge FIM and FAC, larger LOS, lower FIM efficiency and decreased FIM effectiveness. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards identified hypertension HR=1.60(1.13-2.27), admission FIM HR=0.98(0.97-0.99), admission BMI HR=0.96(0.93-0.99) and admitted with catheter HR= 1.80(1.22-2.64) as significant predictors of time to first UTI event (Concordance-index = 0.754).

Conclusions: UTIs identification, characterization, and predictive factors can support post-acute stroke mitigation strategies to minimize UTI-related complications and optimize rehabilitation outcomes.