van Valburg MK, et al. - In this retrospective, observational cohort study, commonly used clinical variables upon ICU admission were tested as predictors for long-term all-cause mortality and functional outcome of adult stroke patients admitted to the ICU. Researchers found high mortality, which occurred most often shortly after the event, in critically ill stroke patients. After 1 year, the ability to function independently was found to be preserved in less than one in three surviving patients. They found that acute physiologic disturbance and absolute values of neurologic clinical evaluation were mainly predictive. Mortality predictors included high Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, impaired consciousness (Glasgow Coma Scale score ≤ 8) as reason for ICU admission, low Glasgow Coma Scale sum score after 24 hours, and absence of brainstem reflexes. Low Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, high Glasgow Coma Scale sum score at ICU admission, and absence of mass effect on CT scan were identified as predictors of long-term independent functional status.