A descriptive epidemiological study on stroke in Kampala, Uganda: a hospitalbased study

Background  Basic stroke features are hardly known in sub-Saharan countries, and no data are available in Uganda. Objective  To characterize patients presenting with clinical stroke to Mulago Hospital. Design  Descriptive epidemiological study. Setting  Mulago National referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. Participants  Patients presenting with clinical stroke from 1st July to 30th November 2006. Patients with confirmed stroke had comprehensive assessments for stroke risk factors. Results  Among 139 patients presenting with clinical stroke, 127 had a non-contrast head CT scan and 12 died prior to scan. Eighty five patients were confirmed to have stroke while 42 had non stroke lesions. Among patients with confirmed stroke, 77.6% had ischemic stroke while 22.4% had hemorrhagic stroke. The mean age for all stroke patients was 62.2 ± 16.2 yrs and 51.8% were men. The incidence of both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke increased with age. Atherosclerotic stroke was the most common ischemic stroke etiology, observed in 43.5% patients with ischemic stroke, while intraparenchymal hemorrhage was the most common hemorrhagic stroke etiology, observed in 78.9% of patients with hemorrhagic stroke. Hypertension was the commonest risk factor with more than 50% of all stroke patients reporting a history of hypertension, and more than half found to have blood pressure greater than 140/90 mm Hg. Physical inactivity and hypercholesterolemia were encountered in more than 36% and 30% of patients with ischemic and haemorrhagic strokes respectively.