Clinical-Epidemiological and Radiological Characteristics of Stroke Patients: A Multicenter Study.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM Stroke is the leading cause of disability in adults and the second most common cause of death, at a rate of 11.8% worldwide. The purpose of this study was to examine the etiological, demographic, and clinical characteristics of patients admitted to hospital due to acute strokes. MATERIALS AND METHODS This multi-center study retrieved information for all patients admitted to hospital due to an acute cerebrovascular event over a six-month period, and sociodemographic, etiological, and clinical characteristics were recorded. RESULTS A total of 1136 patients, 520 of whom were women (45.7%), with a mean age of 70.3 ± 12.8 years, were included in the study. Of these, 967 were diagnosed with ischemic stroke (IS) (85.1%), 99 with hemorrhagic stroke (HS) (8.7%), and 70 with transient ischemic attack (6.1%). The most common risk factor for stroke was hypertension (73%). Carotid disease and hyperlipidemia rates were higher in patients with HS. Numbers of functionally dependent patients with severe neurological status according to the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and modified Rankin scale were significantly higher in the HS group (p <0.001). When IS was classified according to the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment, small vessel disease emerged as the nost common cause (41%). The most common lesion localizations were the parietal lobe (23%) in the IS group and the thalamus (35.3%) in the HS group. Eighty-eight patients (7.7%), 62 (6.4%) in the ischemic subgroup, and 26 (26.3%) in the hemorrhagic subgroup, died within the first month. CONCLUSION Current and accurate evaluations of stroke etiology are essential for stroke prevention and treatment planning. The present study, shows that no change occurred in the etiology of stroke and epidemiological characteristics and that accurate identification of modifiable stroke risk factors is still a major goal.