AIM:
We aimed to intend to contribute to our countries database for acute stroke patients with identifying etiological, epidemiological, demographic and clinical features of those patients.
METHODS:
This is a retrospective descriptive study. Patients’ charts are identified with help of ICD-10 coding system. 124 patients were enrolled to the study.
RESULTS:
Patients in male gender were 56.5 % (n: 70) and mean age of the study group was 67.5 ± 11.8. Average time of the onset of the symptoms was found to be 13.0 ± 18.5 hours. Only twenty five patients (20.5 %) were attended to the emergency department (ED) with in the there hours of symptoms onset. In patients past medical history, 58.8 % (n: 73) patients are hypertensive, 35.0 % (n: 43) are diabetic, 25.0 % (n: 31) of them have coronary artery disease, 20.1 % (n: 25) have a previously known stroke attack. Hundred patients (80.6 %) have a normal head CT. Mortality and morbidity rate was found to be 0.8 % and 6.5 % respectively in patients who were observed in the ED. Average observation time in the ED was 21.5 ± 30.5 hours (1-168). Fifty one patients (41.1 %) were admitted to intensive care unit and six patients were admitted to the neurology ward.
CONCLUSION:
Acute ischemic stroke is common in old male patients. Most important risk factors are hypertension and diabetes. Patients mostly attend to the hospitals lately. Observation periods of those patients are very long in the ED.
Keywords: Cerebrovascular Diseases, Acute Ischemic Stroke, Emergency Department