Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
S Afr Med J. 2012 Aug 22;102(9):765-7. doi: 10.7196/samj.5742.
Stroke is among the top 4 causes of death in South Africa and the top 10 leading causes of disability worldwide. There is a dearth of literature on stroke incidence, prevalence and outcome in sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to establish the case fatality of stroke patients over a 12-month period post discharge from hospital.
A total of 200 patients with first-time ischaemic stroke were recruited from Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital and followed up for 12 months. The Barthel Index (BI) and Rivermead Mobility Index (RMI) were used to establish patient functional ability and, by inference, stroke severity. Follow-up assessments were performed at 3, 6 and 12 months post discharge. Data analysis was largely descriptive in nature.
Thirty-eight per cent of patients died within the 12 month follow-up period; 25.5% within 3 months of discharge. The average length of hospital stay was 6 days. Low BI scores at discharge were observed in the majority of patients who died.
The 12-month cumulative mortality was high (highest at the 3-month follow-up). The short hospital stay and poor functional ability of the patients post stroke possibly left them vulnerable to bed-rest complications, such as chest infections and pressure sores.
中风是南非前 4 大死因之一，也是全球前 10 大导致残疾的原因。在撒哈拉以南非洲，中风发病率、患病率和结局的相关文献匮乏。我们旨在确定中风患者出院后 12 个月的病死率。
共招募了来自克里斯·哈尼·巴哈纳坦学术医院的 200 名首次缺血性中风患者，并进行了 12 个月的随访。使用巴氏指数（BI）和河滨行动能力指数（RMI）来确定患者的功能能力，并推断中风的严重程度。出院后 3、6 和 12 个月进行随访评估。数据分析主要为描述性。
38%的患者在 12 个月的随访期内死亡；25.5%在出院后 3 个月内死亡。平均住院时间为 6 天。死亡患者中多数出院时 BI 评分较低。
12 个月的累积死亡率较高（3 个月随访时最高）。住院时间短，中风后患者的功能能力较差，使他们容易发生卧床并发症，如肺部感染和压疮。
