title: Hospital mortality associated with stroke in southern iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Unlike the western hemisphere, information about stroke epidemiology in southern Iran is scarce. The aim of this study was to determine the main epidemiological characteristics of patients with stroke and its mortality rate in southern Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective, single-center, hospital-based longitudinal study was performed at Nemazee Hospital in Shiraz, Southern Iran. Patients with a diagnosis of hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes were identified based on the International Classification of Diseases, 9th and 10th editions, for the period between 2001 and 2010. Demographics including age, sex, area of residence, socioeconomic status, length of hospital stay, and discharge destinations were analyzed in association with mortality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  16351 patients with a mean age of 63.4 years (95% CI: 63.1, 63.6) were included in this analysis. Men were slightly predominant (53.6% vs. 46.4%). Forty-seven percent of the total sample was older than 65,17% were younger than 45, and 2.6% were children younger than 18. The mean hospital stay was 6.3 days (95% CI: 6.2, 6.4). Among all types of strokes, the overall hospital mortality was 20.5%. Multiple logistic regression revealed significantly higher in-hospital mortality in women and children (P<0.001) but not in patients with low socioeconomic status or from rural areas. During the study period, the mortality proportions increased from 17.8% to 22.2%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In comparison to western countries, a larger proportion of our patients were young adults and the mortality rate was higher.
authors.affiliation: Health Policy Research Center, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; ; Department of Neurology, Motahari Clinic, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran;
authors.forename: Afshin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borhani-Haghighi
authors.forename: Rasool
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Safari
authors.forename: Seyed Taghi
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Heydari
authors.forename: Faroq
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Soleimani
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sharifian
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yektaparast Kashkuli
authors.forename: Mahsa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nayebi Khayatghuchani
authors.forename: Mahbube
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Azadi
authors.forename: Abdolhamid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shariat
authors.forename: Anahid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Safari
authors.forename: Kamran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bagheri Lankarani
authors.forename: Amer
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alshekhlee
authors.forename: Salvador
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cruz-Flores
keywords: Cerebrovascular accident; Cerebrovascular disease; Mortality; Sex; Stroke