2026 American Academy of Neurology Abstract Website

Objective:

To determinate which neurological deficits and demographic factors predict prolonged hospitalization in Hispanic patients with anterior circulation ischemic stroke.

Background:

Length of hospital stay after acute ischemic stroke reflects functional recovery, risk of medical complications, and healthcare resource utilization. Prolonged hospitalization is associated with worse outcomes, delayed rehabilitation, and increased healthcare costs. Despite the clinical importance, data on predictors of extended hospitalization in Hispanic populations are limited. A better understanding of these factors may help improve triage, rehabilitation planning, and post-acute care allocation.

Design/Methods:

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of Hispanic patients with de novo anterior circulation ischemic stroke. The primary outcome was prolonged hospitalization (length of stay>10 days). Predictors evaluated included neurological deficits upon admission (hemianopsia, dysphagia, dysarthria), demographic factors, and comorbidities. Multivariable logistic regression with stepwise entry was performed to identify independent predictors of prolonged stay. Predicted probabilities from the final regression model were used to generate a ROC curve, to assess the model’s discriminative ability in identifying patients at risk of extended hospitalization.

Results:

Among 541 patients (mean age 71.6±12.7 years; 53.4% male), 223 (41.3%) had prolonged hospitalization. Multivariable logistic regression revealed dysphagia (OR=4.62, 95% CI:2.03–10.50, p<0.001) and male sex (OR=1.89, 95% CI:1.31–2.74, p=0.001) were independent risk factors, while hemianopsia (OR=0.07, 95% CI:0.03–0.19, p<0.001) and dysarthria (OR=0.68, 95% CI 0.47–0.98, p=0.041) were protective. The ROC curve for the full model had an AUC of 0.685 (95% CI:0.640–0.730, p<0.001), indicating an acceptable discriminative ability to identify patients at risk of prolonged hospitalization.

Conclusions:

In this Hispanic cohort, dysphagia and male sex were associated with longer hospital stays following anterior circulation stroke, whereas hemianopsia and dysarthria were protective. ROC analysis demonstrated that the combination of these neurological and demographic factors provided a moderate ability to identify patients likely to require extended hospitalization, supporting early targeted interventions to optimize post-acute care planning.