Evaluation of the computed tomograms of stroke patients in a teaching hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The incidence of stroke and its avertable mortalities have been on the rise in developing countries. This trend negatively impacts the socio-economic development of low- and middle-income countries. The study was therefore conducted to evaluate the cranial computerized tomography (CT) pattern in stroke patients in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Calabar.
Method: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional, observational study conducted at the Radiology department of UCTH within a 21-month period on cranial non-contrast CT findings of 94 patients diagnosed of acute stroke. Images were acquired using Somatom-go.Now, Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Henkestr. 12791052 Erlangen, Germany 2020, a 32-slice CT machine. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 24.
Results: Ischemic stroke was more common (66, 70.21%) than hemorrhagic stroke (28, 29.79%). Most of the subjects were males (50, 53.19%) and within the 45 – 54 years age group (27, 28.72%). Majority of the stroke lesions were on the left hemisphere of the brain (55, 58.51%) and were unifocal (81, 86.17%). The most common anatomical site for ischemic stroke lesions and hemorrhagic stroke lesions were internal capsule (22, 22.68%) and thalamus (9, 25%) respectively. Anterior cerebral vascular territory was most affected (70, 74.47%) by stroke lesions. 
Conclusion: Ischemic stroke is the commonest subtype of stroke in Calabar. The incidence of stroke is higher in males than females who are largely in their early middle age and commonly affects the left side of the brain.