Subtypes of stroke and their outcome in Eastern Croatia

Objectives: To determine the share of different stroke subtypes and indicators of their short-term outcome. Patients and methods: The study comprises 250 patients admitted to the Neurology clinic of University Hospital Centre Osijek in 2011. Average age of patients was 71.6 years, and there were 52% male and 48% female patients. The most frequent risk factors were arterial hypertension, carotid artery stenosis, hyperuricemia and diabetes mellitus. Classification used: hemorrhagic stroke (hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (ICHh), atypical intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage) ; ischemic stroke: TOAST (Trial of ORG 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment) classification. Disability was assessed using the Modified Rankin Scale. Results: 88.4% of patients suffered from ischemic stroke, and 11.6% from hemorrhagic stroke. The most frequent subtype of ischemic stroke was small vessel stroke (SVS) (42.4%) followed by large vessel stroke (23.6%), and cardioembolic stroke (CES) (12.4%). The most frequent subtype of hemorrhagic stroke was hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (ICHh) (8.8%). Recurrence was most frequent in LVS (38.39%), followed by CES (32.26%), SVS (28.30%), and ICHh (18.18%). The 15-days case-fatality rate was: 40.90% in ICHh group, 38.71% in CES, 27.12% in LVS, and 11.32% in SVS group. The most severe neurological deficit was recorded in patients with ICHh and CES, and the best functional recovery within 15 days in patients with SVS. Conclusion: This study showed that the share of SVS and ICHh is considerable. Likewise, it confirmed the variations in recurrence, case-fatality, and functional outcome among different subtypes of stroke.