Time of presentation of stroke patients in a tertiary hospital in Northern Nigeria, West Africa

Abstract

Background: The management of stroke had a radical change in the last decade. This revolution followed the finding that carefully selected patient with acute ischemic stroke can benefit from thrombolytic therapy. The drug has to be given within 3 hours of the stroke to be of benefit. Administration of the drug later than this does not have much impact on the outcome. We, therefore, undertook this study to determine the time of presentation of our patients with stroke. This will establish the practicality of thrombolytic therapy in our practice.

Objective: The aim of this study was to observe the time of presentation of stroke patients in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The time of presentation of 128 stroke patients admitted into the medical
wards of Jos University Teaching Hospital was recorded.

Results: There were only 13 (10.1%) patients who presented within the stipulated 3 hours for acute intervention. The median time and mode was ‘after 3 hours but within the first day.’

Conclusion: We found that our  stroke patients presented late to the hospital. Most of our patients will not benefit from the recent modalities of management even if available. There is need for public education and enlightenment on stroke, risk factors, symptoms, and the need for early presentation after a stroke.

Key words: Nigeria, Presentation, Stroke, Time