[Clinical characterization of 450 patients with cerebrovascular disease admitted to a public hospital during 1997].
BACKGROUND
In Chile, cerebrovascular diseases are the fifth cause of death among men and the third cause among women.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the clinical features and management of patients with cerebrovascular disease admitted to a public hospital during 1997.


METHODS
A retrospective analysis of clinical records of patients discharged with a diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease. Those records in which there was discordance between the discharge diagnosis and the clinical picture were not considered in the analysis.


RESULTS
Of the 563 discharges from the hospital with the diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease, 487 records were located and 450 were considered in the analysis. Fifty four percent of patients were male and ages ranged from 17 to 96 years old. Fifty-one percent of patients had an ischemic stroke, 34% a cerebral hemorrhage, 12% a subarachnoidal hemorrhage and 3% a transient ischemic attack. There was a history of hypertension in 64% patients and 20% had an adequate treatment. Eighteen percent were diabetics, 34% had a heart disease and 20% had a previous episode of stroke. Mean hospital stay was 6.3 days in the emergency room and 11 days in the neurology ward. Hospital infections appeared in 21% of patients (respiratory in 68% and urinary in 22%), lethality was 30.5% and a CAT scan was done in 94%. At the moment of admission, 10% of patients had an evolution of less than 2 hours, 27% had an evolution between 2 and 6 hours and nine cases were potential eligible for thrombolysis.


CONCLUSIONS
This is a picture of the local features of patients with cerebrovascular diseases that can be used as a reference for future studies.
Nogales-Gaete
J
J
Servicio de Neurología, Hospital Barros Luco-Trudeau, Departamento de Neurología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile.
Núñez
L
L
Arriagada
C
C
Sáez
D
D
Figueroa
T
T
Fernández
R
R
González
J
J
Aragón
A
A
Barrientos
N
N
Varas
P
P
Troncoso
B
B
Cárcamo
C
C
Chávez
M
M
Gumucio
M
M
Holmgrenn
P
P
Beltrán
G
G
San Martín
E
E
Manríquez
E
E
Figueroa
C
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors