Abstract

Introduction: Cerebrovascular stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in adults. Stroke is the third leading cause of death worldwide, following coronary heart disease and all types of cancer.
Objective: The study's primary goals were to investigate clinical profiles, risk factors, and the relationship between clinical profiles and neuroimaging in stroke patients. Secondary goals included determining the incidence of stroke in various socioeconomic strata, complications during hospitalisation, and the average length of hospital stay.
Methods: This prospective hospital-based study included 50 patients with a provisional clinical diagnosis of fresh stroke who underwent brain neuroimaging (CT/MRI). Patients with other than a stroke as a possible cause were excluded from the study. Imaging findings were evaluated and tabulated before being correlated with the patients' clinical findings.
Results: There were 50 stroke patients (30 males and 20 females). The study found that males (64%) had more cerebrovascular strokes than females (36%), that the most common age group was 70-80 years (38%), that the most common clinical feature was hemiplegia (70%), and that the most common risk factor was hypertension (34%), followed by diabetes mellitus (38%), and dyslipidemia (4%). The most common type of stroke (88%) was ischemic, followed by hemorrhagic (12%).The most common involved areas in ischemic stroke were parietal (28%), and frontal (28%). The thalamus (6%), basal ganglia (6%), and lentiform nucleus (4%), were the most common sites of hemorrhagic stroke. Out of 50 cases, 38 had a provisional clinical diagnosis of infarct/ischemic stroke and 12 had a hemorrhagic stroke. In 44 cases, neuroimaging revealed infarcts/ischemic stroke, and 6 cases revealed haemorrhage. Clinical diagnosis had a sensitivity of 84.1% and a specificity of 83.3% in cases of ischemic stroke. Clinical diagnosis of hemorrhagic stroke had a Sensitivity of 83.3% and a Specificity of 84.1%. MCA territory was the most commonly involved blood vessel (78%).
Conclusion: In our study of 50 patients, hypertension was the frequent risk factor, and ischemic stroke was the most common type. In a significant number of cases, the clinical diagnosis of stroke was correct. As a result, preventing potentially modifiable risk factors for medical complications is an important aspect of early stroke management.