THE EGE STROKE REGISTRY - A HOSPITAL-BASED STUDY IN THE AEGEAN REGION, IZMIR, TURKEY - ANALYSIS OF 2,000 STROKE PATIENTS

We present the profile of risk factors, etiologic and clinical data of 2,000 consecutive patients with first-ever-in-a-lifetime stroke (cere bral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage), adm itted to the Ege University Hospital between January 1, 1991, and Sept ember 31, 1995. This hospital-based registry is the first systematic e pidemiologic report on the stroke profile of Turkish people. The Ege U niversity Stroke Unit is the only tertiary medical care facility which is organized for patients with different stroke subtypes in izmir, Tu rkey. A prospective hospital-based registry using systematic computer coding of data of all stroke patients has been used since January 1991 . All patients were evaluated by clinical examination, CT and/or MRI, color duplex and specific cardiac investigations. They were followed u p for at least 6 months. The mean age was 62.3 +/- 12 years, and 44.4% were females. Ischemic stroke was found in 77%, primary intracerebral hemorrhage in 19% and subarachnoid hemorrhage in 4%. The major risk f actor of ischemic stroke was hypertension (63%), followed by hyperchol esterolemia (37%), diabetes mellitus (35%), ischemic heart disease (23 %), atrial fibrillation (20%) and smoking (17%). The main cause of pri mary intracerebral hemorrhage was hypertension (88%), and the principa l localization was the thalamus (38%), followed by putamen (28 %), lob ar (16 %), pens (6 %), cerebellar (4%), primary intraventricular hemor rhage (4%) and multiple hemorrhages (2%). The overall 30-day case-fata lity rate was 19.7% and the higher mortality rate was found in patient s with primary intracerebral hemorrhage (29%) than in those with ische mic stroke (17%). The Ege Stroke Registry allows to estimate the strok e-related problems in patients admitted to a stroke unit and to evalua te the risk factors, etiology and clinical manifestations of stroke in Turkey.