Baseline characteristics of patients with and without pneumonia
| Variables | Total, n (%) N=790 811 | Pneumonia, n (%) N=64 398 (8.1%) | No pneumonia, n (%) N=726 413 (91.9%) | ASD |
| Age, mean (SE) | 66.2 (12.0) | 72.5 (11.3) | 65.6 (11.9) | 60.3 |
| Male | 494 756 (62.6) | 39 435 (61.2) | 455 321 (62.7) | 3.1 |
| Arrival by EMS | 82 859 (10.5) | 14 191 (22.0) | 68 668 (9.5) | 34.8 |
| Admission NIHSS score, median (IQR)* | 3.0 (2.0–6.0) | 7.0 (3.0–13.0) | 3.0 (1.0–5.0) | 80.4 |
| 0–3 | 347 950 (44.0) | 14 169 (22.0) | 333 781 (45.9) | 52.2 |
| 4–14 | 251 270 (31.8) | 26 305 (40.8) | 224 965 (31.0) | 20.5 |
| ≥15 | 34 051 (4.3) | 11 424 (17.7) | 22 627 (3.1) | 49.3 |
| Hospitalised in SUs | 193 968 (24.5) | 19 280 (29.9) | 174 688 (24.0) | 13.3 |
| Medical history | ||||
| Stroke/TIA | 263 769 (33.4) | 25 103 (39.0) | 238 666 (32.9) | 12.7 |
| Hypertension | 509 975 (64.5) | 41 991 (65.2) | 467 984 (64.4) | 1.7 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 170 334 (21.5) | 13 879 (21.6) | 156 455 (21.5) | 0.2 |
| Dyslipidaemia | 61 111 (7.7) | 5341 (8.3) | 55 770 (7.7) | 2.2 |
| CHD/previous MI | 69 357 (8.8) | 8849 (13.7) | 60 508 (8.3) | 17.3 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 39 276 (5.0) | 8649 (13.4) | 30 627 (4.2) | 32.9 |
| Carotid stenosis | 10 288 (1.3) | 1202 (1.9) | 9086 (1.3) | 4.8 |
| PVD | 13 775 (1.7) | 1824 (2.8) | 11 951 (1.6) | 8.2 |
| Heart failure | 7884 (1.0) | 2198 (3.4) | 5686 (0.8) | 18.2 |
| Dementia | 3743 (0.5) | 897 (1.4) | 2846 (0.4) | 10.6 |
| Smoking | 293 172 (37.1) | 23 127 (35.9) | 270 045 (37.2) | 2.7 |
| Alcoholism | 185 420 (23.4) | 13 755 (21.4) | 171 665 (23.6) | 5.3 |
| DS performed prior to oral intake | 622 718 (78.7) | 54 745 (85.0) | 567 973 (78.2) | 17.6 |
| Swallowing function | ||||
| Unknown† | 171 110 (21.6) | 9929 (15.4) | 161 181 (22.2) | 17.5 |
| Normal | 556 869 (70.4) | 31 561 (49.0) | 525 308 (72.3) | 49.1 |
| Dysphagia | 62 832 (7.9) | 22 908 (35.6) | 39 924 (5.5) | 80.3 |
| Discharge outcomes | ||||
| In-hospital mortality | 1662 (0.2) | 1077 (1.7) | 585 (0.1) | 17.0 |
| mRS score at discharge‡ | ||||
| 0–2 | 270 649 (34.2) | 10 861 (16.9) | 259 788 (35.8) | 43.9 |
| ≥3 | 119 908 (15.2) | 18 957 (29.4) | 100 951 (13.9) | 38.3 |
| Length of stay, median (IQR) | 11.0 (8.0–14.0) | 13.0 (9.0–18.0) | 11.0 (8.0–14.0) | 38.4 |
| Region | ||||
| Eastern | 367 586 (46.5) | 30 417 (47.2) | 337 169 (46.4) | 1.6 |
| Central | 258 162 (32.6) | 15 596 (24.2) | 242 566 (33.4) | 20.4 |
| Western | 165 063 (20.9) | 18 385 (28.5) | 146 678 (20.2) | 19.4 |
| Hospital grade | ||||
| Secondary | 307 090 (38.8) | 21 597 (33.5) | 285 493 (39.3) | 12.1 |
| Tertiary | 483 721 (61.2) | 42 801 (66.5) | 440 920 (60.7) | 12.1 |
*The NIHSS score was missing in 157 540 (19.9%) cases.
†Unknown: Swallowing status was defined as unknown in patients without documentation of DS and those with missing swallowing function data.
‡The mRS score at discharge was missing in 400 254 (50.6%) patients.
.ASD, absolute standardised difference; CHD, coronary heart disease; DS, dysphagia screening; EMS, emergency medical services; MI, myocardial infarction; mRS, modified Rankin Scale; NIHSS, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale; PVD, peripheral vascular disease; SUs, stroke units; TIA, transient ischaemic attack.