Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25643360›Full record

ArticlePloS one2015

Effect of beta-blocker therapy on the risk of infections and death after acute stroke--a historical cohort study.

Ilko L Maier, André Karch, Rafael Mikolajczyk, Mathias Bähr, Jan Liman

Erratum issuedOpen access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 35 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
35citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
4.8field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

35 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. Article
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  9. Evaluating the Impact of Statin Use on Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness and Influenza Infection in Older Adults.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2023
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  15. The role of βBrain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2021
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Ilko L MaierDepartment of Neurology, University Medicine Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
André KarchResearch group Epidemiological and Statistical Methods (ESME), Department of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany; German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Braunschweig site, Braunschweig, Germany.
Rafael MikolajczykResearch group Epidemiological and Statistical Methods (ESME), Department of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany; German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Braunschweig site, Braunschweig, Germany; Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Mathias BährDepartment of Neurology, University Medicine Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Jan LimanDepartment of Neurology, University Medicine Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInfections are a frequent cause for prolonged hospitalization and increased mortality after stroke. Recent studies revealed a stroke-induced depression of the peripheral immune system associated with an increased susceptibility for infections. In a mice model for stroke, this immunosuppressive effect was reversible after beta-blocker administration. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of beta-blocker therapy on the risk of infections and death after stroke in humans.

methods625 consecutive patients with ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, admitted to a university hospital stroke unit, were included in this historical cohort study. The effect of beta-blocker therapy on post-stroke pneumonia, urinary tract infections and death was investigated using multivariable Poisson and Cox regression models.

results553 (88.3%) patients were admitted with ischemic stroke, the remaining 72 (11.7%) had a hemorrhagic stroke. Median baseline NIHSS was 8 (IQR 5-16) points. 301 (48.2%) patients received beta-blocker therapy. There was no difference in the risk of post-stroke pneumonia between patients with and without beta-blocker therapy (Rate Ratio = 1.00, 95%CI 0.77-1.30, p = 0.995). Patients with beta-blocker therapy showed a decreased risk for urinary tract infections (RR = 0.65, 95%CI 0.43-0.98, p = 0.040). 7-days mortality did not differ between groups (Hazard Ratio = 1.36, 95%CI 0.65-2.77, p = 0.425), while patients with beta-blocker therapy showed a higher 30-days mortality (HR = 1.93, 95%CI 1.20-3.10, p = 0.006).

conclusionsBeta-blocker therapy did not reduce the risk for post-stroke pneumonia, but significantly reduced the risk for urinary tract infections. Different immune mechanisms underlying both diseases might explain these findings that need to be confirmed in future studies.

Indexed as

Adrenergic beta-AntagonistsAgedCohort StudiesFemaleHumansHydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase InhibitorsInfectionsMaleStrokeTreatment OutcomeAdrenergic beta-AntagonistsHydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors

Identifiers

PMID25643360
PMCPMC4314079
OpenAlexW1967763328

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.