Chronic Kidney Disease and Cerebrovascular Pathology: Incidence and Functional Outcomes in Riga East University Hospital

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of cerebrovascular pathology in patients with chronic kidney disease and its effect on functional outcomes. Materials and Methods: In a retrospective cross-sectional study (2018-2021), the medical records of patients with acute hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke with concomitant chronic kidney disease who received treatment in Riga East University Hospital Stroke Unit were analyzed. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 26.0. The Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient methods were used. 

Results: The final sample consisted of 305 acute cerebrovascular pathology patients (56.4% females). Overall, 57.3% of stroke patients had second-stage chronic kidney disease with average serum creatinine levels of 104.3 mmol/L (±32.8). The functional outcome of the stroke depended on the stage of chronic kidney disease. There was a statistically significant non-linear correlation between glomerular filtration rate and NIHSS (National Institute of Health Stroke Scale) score on admission (Rho -0.194, p = 0.016), glomerular filtration rate and NIHSS score on discharge (Rho -0.186, p = 0.020), and glomerular filtration rate and modified Rankin score on admission (Rho -0.237, p = 0.003) and discharge (Rho -0.224, p = 0.05). The mean NIHSS score of ischemic stroke patients was 8.3 ± 5.9 on admission and 6.5 ± 5.8 on discharge. In the hemorrhagic stroke patient group, the mean NIHSS score was 9.5 ± 7.3 on admission and 7.1 ± 6.9 on discharge. On average, 34.0% of ischemic stroke patients had an mRS score of 5 on admission, while in the hemorrhagic stroke patient group, this figure was 41%. There was no statistical difference in the glomerular filtration rate between the thrombolyzed versus non-thrombolyzed patient groups (Mann-Whitney U test = 1457, p = 0.794). 

Conclusions: Chronic kidney disease is an important predictor of the severity and functional outcome of a stroke; furthermore, the early management and prevention of complications should be a top priority in the prophylaxis of this cerebrovascular pathology.