Recurrence of Strokes and Associated Factors at Laquintinie Hospital in Douala

Abstract

OVERVIEW: Stroke is the second leading cause of death in the world and the leading cause of non-traumatic disability in adults. Although the incidence of stroke has steadily declined in developed countries, the incidence in low- and middle-income countries like Cameroon continues to grow, accounting for 85% of the global burden of stroke. Whenever a stroke occurs, the patient, the patient's family and the physician want to know the risk of recurrence, its severity and the possibility of prevention. Few studies have focused on stroke recurrences and factors associated with Cameroon. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of recurrent stroke and the factors associated with Laquintinie Hospital in Douala. METHODOLOGY: We conducted a two-year retrospective study from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2017 and five-month cross-sectional prospective from January 1, 2018 to May 31, 2018 at Laquintinie Hospital in Douala. Included were all patients hospitalized for stroke. RESULTS: We recruited 528 stroke patients, including 75 recidivists with a recurrence prevalence of 14.20%. The average age of recidivism was 65.82±12.75 years and 70.6% female. Factors statistically associated with recurrence were an antecedent of hypertension (OR=038 [0.152-0.98], P=0.045), the ischemic type of first stroke (OR=2.32 [1.04-5.17] P=0.04); females (OR=2.052 [1.20-3.4921]; P=0.007) and poor treatment compliance after first stroke (OR=0.399 [0.160-0.99] P=0.042). CONCLUSION: About 1 out of 6 (14.2%) survivors of a first stroke have recurrent stroke over the next 2 years at Laquintinie Hospital in Douala. The predictive factors for recurrence in this study were a history of hypertension, the ischemic type of stroke, female gender, and poor adherence to secondary prevention measures.