Prevalence and determinants of post-stroke psychosis in Aswan: a prospective study

Post-stroke psychosis (PSP) is a rare but serious neuropsychiatric condition characterized by delusions and/or hallucinations following a stroke. Despite its impact on prognosis and quality of life, PSP remains underdiagnosed and undertreated, with limited data on its prevalence and risk factors. The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence and determinants of post-stroke psychosis (PSP), as well as to compare PSP and non-PSP patients in terms of improvement and daily living outcomes. This nested case–control study included 2,624 acute stroke patients from a university hospital between May 2017 and April 2022. Patients who developed PSP within 6 months post-stroke were identified as cases (n = 108), and 119 patients without PSP were randomly selected as controls. Comprehensive assessments included clinical, laboratory, and imaging evaluations at baseline. After 6 months, follow-up evaluations were conducted, including neurological examinations, psychiatric assessments, and stroke severity assessments using the Barthel index (BI). The psychiatric assessments included the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale for depression and the Mini-Mental State Examination for cognitive status. The prevalence of PSP was 5.4%. risk factors significantly associated with PSP included older age, male patients, lower education level (≤ 5 years), hemiplegia, sphincter affection, cortical lesion, brain atrophy, small vessel disease, ischemic stroke, post-stroke dementia, and seizures. Non-specified psychosis and delusional disorder were the most common psychosis subtypes. There was a significantly higher percentage of excellent patients in the non-PSP group compared to those who had PSP regarding the observed improvement in the patient's condition. Also, there is a higher percentage of deteriorated patients in the PSP group (46.6%) compared to another group (18.9%) regarding BI. PSP is a prevalent post-stroke complication associated with distinct risk factors and poor functional outcomes. Early screening and identification of high-risk patients, along with multidisciplinary management strategies, are crucial for optimizing recovery and quality of life in stroke survivors.