Depression and Anxiety after Stroke in Young Adult Filipinos.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Young adult patients may suffer from poststroke depression (PSD) and anxiety. Few studies have evaluated these important psychiatric conditions that may lead to adverse outcomes in young adults. We aimed to determine the prevalence of PSD and anxiety as well as to identify their predictors in a population of young Filipino adults (18-49 years old). METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional epidemiologic study in the largest tertiary hospital in the Philippines. The study involved the administration of a structured survey tool and review of medical records. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score - Pilipino version (HADS-P) was used to screen for anxiety and depression. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to determine significant socio-economic and clinical risk factors of PSD and anxiety. RESULTS: 114 young adult stroke patients were included. The prevalence of depression was 20.2% while that of anxiety was 34.2%. Significant predictors of PSD were the presence of anxiety (OR 1.84; CI 1.05-3.22), lower mRS scores (mRS 3-5 OR 5.52; 95% CI 1.09-8.03) and diabetes (OR 2.09; 95% CI 1.67-6.26). Meanwhile, significant predictors of poststroke anxiety included depression (OR 7.5; 95% CI 5.02-21.94) and dependency (Barthel Index scores 95-100; OR 0.94; 95% CI 0.89-0.99). Relationship status, educational attainment, stroke subtype and location were not found to be significant predictors of PSD and anxiety. CONCLUSION: A significant proportion of young adults suffered from depression and anxiety after stroke. Clinicians should be aware of these psychiatric conditions that influence outcomes and quality of life of young adults with stroke.

Non-Traumatic Intracerebral Hematoma in the Young: Findings from a Tertiary Hospital in the Philippines.

BACKGROUND: There is geographic variability in the clinical profile and outcomes of non-traumatic intracerebral hematoma (ICH) in the young, and data for the Philippines is lacking. We aimed to describe this in a cohort from the Philippines, and identify predictors of mortality. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of all patients aged 19-49 years with radiographic evidence of non-traumatic ICH admitted in our institution over five years. Data on demographics, risk factors, imaging, etiologies, surgical management, in-hospital mortality, and discharge functional outcomes were collected. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to determine factors predictive of mortality. RESULTS: A total of 185 patients were included, which had a mean age of 40.98 years and a male predilection (71.9%). The most common hematoma location was subcortical, but it was lobar for the subgroup of patients aged 19-29 years. Overall, the most common etiology was hypertension (73.0%), especially in patients aged 40-49. Conversely, the incidence of vascular lesions and thrombocytopenia was higher in patients aged 19-29. Surgery was done in 7.0% of patients. The rates of mortality and favorable functional outcome at discharge were 8.7% and 35.1%, respectively. Younger age (p = 0.004), higher NIHSS score on admission (p=0.01), higher capillary blood glucose on admission (p=0.02), and intraventricular extension of hematoma (p = 0.01) predicted mortality. CONCLUSIONS: In the Philippines, the most common etiology of ICH in young patients was hypertension, while aneurysms and AVM's were the most common etiology in the subgroup aged 19 - 29 years. Independent predictors of mortality were identified.

Predictive Value of Hematologic Inflammatory Markers in Delayed Cerebral Ischemia After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Our study aimed to determine the ability of hematologic markers (neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio [NLR], platelet/lymphocyte ratio, and red cell distribution width [RDW]) in predicting delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI), modified Rankin Scale scores, and mortality in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). METHODS: A retrospective observational 6-year review of medical records was conducted to identify all consecutive patients with aSAH admitted to the largest training hospital in the Philippines. Univariable and multivariable regression analyses were performed to determine the association of the biomarkers with the respective outcomes. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to detect overall predictive accuracy. RESULTS: A total of 222 patients with aSAH were included, of whom 11.71% developed DCI. Most patients with NLR ≥5.9 subsequently died (77 vs. 52%; P = 0.03). DCI was also associated with poor functional outcomes with higher modified Rankin Scale scores (3-6) on discharge (92% vs. 49%; P < 0.01), and longer duration of hospitalization (median, 20 vs. 13 days; P = 0.01). In receiver operating characteristic analyses, the value of RDW was predictive for DCI (area under the curve, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, 0.62-0.79; P < 0.01). The values of NLR (area under the curve, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.59-0.74) potentially predict functional outcome. RDW, NLR, and their combinations were poor discriminators of mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that some hematologic parameters analyzed could be of potential value as prognostic biomarkers in patients with aSAH. Hematologic biomarkers are widely available and practical parameters that may be of considerable clinical value in aSAH management, especially in lower-middle-income countries such as the Philippines.