Association Between TCBI (Triglycerides, Total Cholesterol, and Body Weight Index) and Stroke-Associated Pneumonia in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients.

Purpose: Stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) usually complicates stroke and is linked to adverse prognoses. Triglycerides, total cholesterol, and body weight index (TCBI) is a new and simple calculated nutrition index. This study seeks to investigate the association between TCBI and SAP incidence, along with its predictive value.

Patients and methods: Nine hundred and sixty-two patients with acute ischemic stroke were divided into SAP group and Non-SAP group. The TCBI was divided into three layers: T1, TCBI < 948.33; T2, TCBI 948.33-1647.15; T3, TCBI > 1647.15. Binary Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between TCBI levels and the incidence of SAP. Furthermore, restricted cubic splines (RCS) analysis was utilized to evaluate the influence of TCBI on the risk of SAP.

Results: TCBI in the SAP group was markedly lower compared to that in the Non-SAP group (P < 0.001). The Logistic regression model revealed that, using T3 layer as the reference, T1 layer had the highest risk for SAP prevalence (OR = 2.962, 95% CI: 1.600-5.485, P = 0.001), with confounding factors being controlled. The RCS model found that TCBI had a linear relationship with SAP (P for nonlinear = 0.490, P for overall = 0.004). Moreover, incorporating TCBI into the A²DS² (Age, atrial fibrillation, dysphagia, sex, and severity) model substantially enhanced the initial model's predictive accuracy.

Conclusion: Low TCBI was associated with a higher risk of SAP. In clinical practice, TCBI has shown predictive value for SAP, contributing to early intervention and treatment of SAP.