Prevalence, Clinical Profile and Outcome of Patients Presenting with Stroke

BACKGROUND: Stroke is a clinical condition that has a greatly increasing prevalence in the recent years owing to our ‘modern’ sedentary lifestyle. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence, risk factors, clinical presentation and outcome of patients presenting with stroke in a tertiary care hospital.

METHODOLOGY: A prospective observational study was conducted in the Department of General Medicine, Saveetha Medical College & Hospital, Thandalam, Chennai for a period of 4 months, i.e., from January 2021 to April 2021.Stroke patients who met the eligibility criteria were included in the study. All sociodemographic and clinical data were recorded by reviewing the patient and his medical records regularly. Scores like NIHSS (National Institute of Health Stroke Scale) score and mRS (modified Rankin scale) scores were calculated and TOAST categorisation was done. Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software.

RESULTS: Out of 100 stroke patients, 65% were males and 35% were females. Mean age was 57.95 years. Ischemic strokes were seen in 85% of patients and the rest 15% had hemorrhagic stroke. The most common presentation was facial palsy (67%), followed by hemiparesis (62%) and hemiplegia (38%). The important risk factors were hypertension (70%), diabetes mellitus (48%) and obesity (42%). Based on mRS scores, 59% of the patients had bad outcome.

CONCLUSION: Hypertension and diabetes were the most common risk factor in our study population. Preventive measures include creating awareness, lifestyle changes and compliance to medications. National programmes on stroke prevention initiate and coordinate awareness campaigns to reduce the incidence, morbidity and mortality of stroke. Finally, a multidimensional approach involving the patient community, general population, medical fraternity and government authorities is essential to curtail this modern epidemic.