AND score: a simple tool for predicting infection in acute ischemic stroke patients without a ventilator in the Chinese population

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to develop a simple and user-friendly scoring system to predict all-cause hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in the Chinese population. METHODS: AIS patients from a retrospective cohort study at our center were included from January 2016 to December 2018. HAIs were diagnosed based on the current criteria from Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China. Stepwise logistic regression models were performed to screen independent predictors of HAI after AIS. A scoring system was developed by including each of the above significant predictors. RESULTS: Among 1211 patients, 76 patients (6.28%) developed HAI. Age, baseline National Institute of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) score, and dysphagia were independent predictors of HAI. For the AND score, A refers to age, N refers to NIHSS, and D refers to dysphagia. The AND score showed a high area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) curve (0.679), which comprised age (65–74 years was 4 points, 75–84 years was 6 points, ≥85 years was 8 points), NIHSS score ≥10 (5 points), and dysphagia (6 points). CONCLUSIONS: We developed a simple scoring system to predict all-cause infections after AIS patients without a ventilator in the Chinese population.