Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Stroke Cases in Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital, Kano, Nigeria: A retrospective study

Abstract

Stroke is a cerebrovascular disease that disturbs or damages the blood supply to the brain. This study aimed to evaluate the  demographic and clinical characteristics of stroke cases in Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital, Kano, Nigeria. Five years of records of  three hundred (300) stroke patients comprised of biodata and clinical data were collected. The data were expressed as mean±SD, while simple percentage and Chi-square (χ2) tests were used to determine the incidence and association between the variables respectively  using Minitab 17.0 software. The results showed an incidence of 182 (61%) males and 118 (39%) females, 265 (78%) and 65 (22%) for the  above and below 40 years age groups respectively. The Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo ethnic groups have an incidence of 258 (86%), 24 (8%),  and 18 (6%) respectively. The yearly incidence was 40 (13%), 50 (17%), 20 (7%), 56 (17%), and 134 (45%) for 2017 through 2021,  respectively. The incidence of hemorrhagic, ischaemic, and transient ischaemic attack strokes were, 222 (74%), 63 (21%), and 15 (5%),  while that of left, right, and both sides impairments were 144 (48%), 138 (46%), and 18 (6%), respectively. The common risk factors were  hypertension (50%) and hypotension (20%), diabetes mellitus 54 (18%), and others 12 (4%) and 3 (1%) respectively. No association  between sex and stroke types (P = 0.553). Conclusively, although intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke, right-side impairment, and  hypertension were the most common stroke types, disabilities, and risk factors, respectively there was no association obtained between  sex and the incidence of stroke type.