Background: The burden of stroke is very high in sub-Saharan Africa. The identification of the factors influencing poor outcome can help to reduce this burden. Objective: To study factors influencing the prognosis of stroke at Parakou. Methods: It was a prospective study conducted over two periods: inclusion period between 1st January and 30 June ; monitoring period of survivors between 1st July and 30 September.
All consecutive patients admitted in the hospitals for stroke in the study period were included. Epi-info version 7 and SPSS version 16 were used for the statistical analyses. Factors associated with mortality were female gender, stroke severity, disorders of consciousness, hyperthermia and hyperglycemia at admission, overweight, pneumonia, anemia, hyperleucocytosis, higher total and LDL serum cholesterol levels at 1 month; housewife status and pneumonia were associated at 3 month.
Stroke severity and length of hospital stay were associated with disability at 1 month whereas previous stroke and disability history, stroke severity, weight and length of hospital stay were related with 3 month poor functional outcome.
Conclusion: This study showed the poor outcome of stroke patients in Parakou which were influenced by many factors. Taking account of these factors in the strategies of care in the acute phase may improve the prognosis of stroke patients. Mortality , Prognosis , Stroke , Parakou.
Stroke is the second leading cause of mortality after coronary heart disease and a major cause of disability in the world [1]. Projections for the next decades show that its overall mortality will exceed that of communicable diseases in Developing countries [2] [3]. In Europe, the incidence varies from 63 to Every year about , new cases occur in France, of which a quarter affect patients with a history of stroke [5]. In Africa, most studies are hospital-based except for a few studies in the general population, which generally report an estimated prevalence of about cases per , population [6].
