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

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.

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.

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.