Stroke in a subsaharan Nigerian hospital--a retrospective study

The case records of 53 consecutive Nigerian inpatients with stroke in the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri were retrospectively reviewed. The mean age at presentation was 55 years and the male to female ratio was 2.5:1. The mean duration of symptoms before presentation was 11.1 weeks and the average duration of stay in hospital was 3 weeks. Thirty-three (63%) of the lesions were infarctive and 19 (37%) were haemorrhagic. Only 3 (6%) patients gave a history of prior transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs). Forty-two (79%) patients were hypertensive at presentation out of which 27 (64%) had the hypertension diagnosed for the first time. Four (8%) patients were non-insulin dependent diabetics. There were 11 hospital deaths (21%). Thus hypertension, more than half undiagnosed at admission, was the most common risk factor for stroke in the hospital population studied.