Clinicoradiological study of stroke

Background: Stroke is the 3rd commonest cause of death in the world. It is a group of diseases that are of abrupt onset and causing neurologic damage due to vascular cause. Aims &Objectives: The study conducted to establish the value of the Brain Imaging (Computerized Tomography scan) and its advantages over traditional methods of clinical diagnosis of stroke. Hence its correlation with radiological findings helps in deciding the treatment guidelines. Material &Methods: 100 cases of Cerebrovascular accidents (excluding traumatic) were studied at Sir Takhatsinghji hospital, Bhavnagar from May 2006- April 2007. All cases were primarily diagnosed by clinical examination and further Evaluated by CT scan. Result : Out of 100 cases clinically diagnosed as a case of Cerebrovascular accident (CVA), diagnosis was confirmed by CT Scan in 84 cases (84%)[ infarct and hemorrhage] and in 16 cases (16%) had diagnosis other than Cerebrovascular accident. Potentially treatable conditions like hematoma, intracranial mass, meningitis or intracranial infections can be missed if we do not do Brain Imaging. Conclusion: CT scan (Brain Imaging Modalities) is better than clinical method (including scoring system) in diagnosis of Cerebrovascular accident and other stroke mimicking conditions. So it must be done in all cases whenever feasible for deciding the treatment guideline and for better outcome. Key words: Stroke (Cerebrovascular Accident), Clinical diagnosis, CT scan (Radiological investigation).