[Functional prognosis of stroke patients after 3 months: determining factors]

To analyze the factors involved in the functional prognosis of stroke patients three months after onset.

We made a prospective study of 288 patients with non-transient strokes who had been admitted consecutively to our hospital. Data was collected on a standardized questionnaire: age, sex, risk factors, latency of admission, interval of neurological attention (INA), severity of defect (classified on the Scandinavian scale: slight-moderate: SSS > 30/serious: SSS < or = 30), stay in hospital, development of complications and previous quality of life, after seven and ninety days. Two groups were considered according to Barthel's index (BI): acceptable recuperation: BI > 60 and poor recuperation BI < or = 60.

The average age was 70.72 years and the latency of admission was 9.71 hours. After three months the functional prognosis was good in 145 patients. On bivariate analysis the latency of admission, severity of the stroke, age, development of complications, INA and BI, one week later were significant. Multivariate analysis confirmed as independent indicators of poor prognosis after 90 days: advanced age of the patient (p = 0.006), the development of complications (p = 0.0235), serious neurological defect (p = 0.0274) and the BI after seven days (p = 0.006).

Advanced age of the patient, the extent of the defect and appearance of complications whilst in hospital were associated with poorer quality of life after three months. The INA > 6 hours also had a negative influence, although it was not confirmed to be an independent variable.