Survival status and predictors of mortality among adult Stroke patients admitted to Jimma University Medical Center, South west Ethiopia: A retrospective Cohort study

BACKGROUND: Stroke is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease death in sub-Saharan Africa and the second leading cause of mortality worldwide. In 2016, 6.23% of all fatalities in Ethiopia were stroke-related. OBJECTIVE: To assess survival status and predictors of mortality among adult stroke patients admitted to Jimma University Medical Center from April 1/2017 to March 31/2022. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 480 adult stroke patients selected by simple random sampling from patients admitted to the Jimma University Medical Center Stroke Unit from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2022. Data were extracted from May to June 2022 and entered Epi-data v.3.1 and analyzed by R v.4.2. The Kaplan-Meier curve with Log rank test was used to estimate survival time and to compare survival experience between categories of explanatory variables. The Cox regression model was computed to identify predictors of survival status in stroke patients. Then the 95% CI of the hazard ratio was set with corresponding p-value < 0.05 to declare statistical significance. RESULTS: During 4350 person-days of follow-up; 88 (18.33%) patients died; resulting in an incidence mortality of 20.23 per 1000 person-days, with a median survival time of 38 days. Glasgow coma score <8 on admission (AHR = 7.71; 95% CI: 3.78, 15.69), dyslipidemia (AHR = 3.96; 95% CI: 2.04, 7.69), aspiration pneumonia (AHR 2.30; 95% CI: 1.23–4.26), and increased intracranial pressure (AHR = 4.27; 95% CI: 2.33, 7.81), were the independent predictors of the time until death. CONCLUSION: The incidence of stroke mortality was higher at the seven and fourteen days. Glasgow Coma Scale, increased intracranial pressure, dyslipidemia, and aspiration pneumonia were independent predictors of mortality.