Prevalence and pattern of stroke among patients attending a teaching hospital in Dhamar governorate, Yemen

Abstract Background: Stroke is still one of the most life-threatening disorders in the middle and low-income countries including Yemen. Aim: The present study was aimed to explore the prevalence and pattern of stroke among patients attending Thamar University Al-Wahdah Teaching Hospital (TUWTH), located in Ma'bar city, Dhamar governorate, Yemen. Methods: This was a hospital-based descriptive study conducted on 1482 patients admitted to the Internal Medicine Department, including Intensive Care Unit (ICU), between January and December 2016. Suspected stroke cases were diagnosed based on their history and clinical examination, and then confirmed by computed tomography scan (CT) or magnetic resonance image (MRI) techniques. Proposed risk factors and outcome of stroke were reported for the confirmed cases. Results: The overall prevalence of stroke was found to be 6.1% (91/1482) among the study population in Dhamar governorate. Of all stroke cases, 76.9 % were ischemic stroke and 23.1% were hemorrhagic stroke. The majority (82.4%) of the stroke patients were improved and discharged with medication. As well, hemorrhagic stroke was significantly associated with higher mortality rate compared to ischemic stroke (52.4% vs. 7.1%, P = 0.001, respectively). The mean age of stroke patients was 66.1 years. Stroke was higher among males than females (63.7% vs. 36.3%, respectively). Other proposed risk factors such as hypertension, smoking, past history of stroke, diabetes mellitus, and family history of stroke were reported in 57.1%, 47.3%, 15.8 %, 11% and 5.5% of the stroke cases, respectively. Khat chewing habit was reported in 74.73 % of the stroke patients. Conclusion: This study gives a clear description about stroke in Dhamar governorate. However, more inferential studies should be carried out in order to give reasonable accounts regarding this significant public health problem