EVALUATING THE OUTCOME OF STROKE: A PROSPECTIVE HOSPITAL BASED STUDY

Objectives: this study was aimed to determine the functional outcome after stroke and to assess the influence of various factors on acute in-hospital stroke mortality. material and methods: this prospective study included 281 stroke patients of either sex, 20 to 70 years and above admitted in dr. ziauddin medical university hospital, north nazimabad campus, karachi, during a period of one year. main outcome measures used were glasgow coma scale (gcs) and modified rankin scale (mrs). results: data analysis showed that in-hospital mortality was 11.74% (n=33/281). age and gender had no adverse effect on acute mortality in this study while poor initial gcs; hemorrhagic stroke and all the studied risk factors were bad prognostic factors. at the end of one month, 32 patients were lost to follow- up and mortality was 13.5% (n=5/216) while excellent outcome was observed in 22.27% (n=47/216) and poor outcome in 77.72% (n=164/216) of patients. conclusion: this study confirms the significant morbidity and mortality associated with stroke and shows the need in preventing and controlling the risk factors for early death.