The Mataró Stroke Registry: a 10-year registry in a community hospital.

INTRODUCTION: A prospective stroke registry leads to improved knowledge of the disease. We present data on the Mataró Hospital Registry. METHODS: In February-2002 a prospective stroke registry was initiated in our hospital. It includes sociodemographic data, previous diseases, clinical, topographic, etiological and prognostic data. We have analyzed the results of the first 10 years. RESULTS: A total of 2,165 patients have been included, 54.1% male, mean age 73 years. The most frequent vascular risk factor was hypertension (65.4%). Median NIHSS on admission: 3 (interquartile range, 1-8). Stroke subtype: 79.7% ischemic strokes, 10.9% hemorrhagic, and 9.4% TIA. Among ischemic strokes, the etiology was cardioembolic in 26.5%, large-vessel disease in 23.7%, and small-vessel in 22.9%. The most frequent topography of hemorrhages was lobar (47.4%), and 54.8% were attributed to hypertension. The median hospital stay was 8 days. At discharge, 60.7% of patients were able to return directly to their own home, and 52.7% were independent for their daily life activities. After 3 months these percentages were 76.9% and 62.9%, respectively. Hospital mortality was 6.5%, and after 3 months 10.9%. CONCLUSIONS: Our patient's profile is similar to those of other series, although the severity of strokes was slightly lower. Length of hospital stay, short-term and medium term disability, and mortality rates are good, if we compare them with other series.