A Five-Year Retrospective Cohort Study of Survivality and Functional Outcomes of Stroke Patients Following Hospital Admission

BACKGROUND: Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in India. Data on long-term outcomes of patients with stroke in India are relatively sparse. OBJECTIVE: To document survival and long-term functional outcomes of patients with acute stroke and to assess the measures taken for secondary prevention of stroke. METHODS AND MATERIAL: A five-year retrospective cohort study involving 118 patients with acute stroke was conducted. Details about five years’ survival, functional outcomes (modified Rankin Scale [mRS], Barthel index [BI], and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [HDRS]), and secondary prevention measures were investigated. RESULTS: Among the patients, 38.1% were diagnosed with ischemic stroke and 61.8% were diagnosed with hemorrhagic stroke. Hypertension was observed to be the predominant risk factor in a majority of the admitted patients. About 30.5% of patients died in the hospital within zero to four weeks after the index event, while 27.1% died during the follow-up period of five years. Approximately 21.1% of patients experienced a recurrent stroke over the next five years which turned out fatal. The quality of life was seriously affected in 32.4% of survivors. It was seen that 40.5% of survivors were fully independent and 45.9% were able to return to their occupation after five years poststroke. Prevalence of severe and very severe depression was observed in 3.4% and 1.7% of survivors, respectively. The majority of the survivors (93.9%) were aware of the risk of recurrent stroke. Physical activities as measures for the prevention of stroke were undertaken by 60.6% of survivors. CONCLUSION: Effective strategies for secondary prevention and also for long-term survival after stroke should be initiated as early as possible after the onset of the initial stroke. Stroke survivors should be closely monitored for their functional recovery and behavioral and emotional improvement poststroke.