Acute Stroke Management and Outcome: An Experience from One Private Tertiary Care Center in Eastern India

Abstract Background: Stroke is already an epidemic, and the awareness about stroke, prevalence of risk factors, presentations, response to treatment, and outcome are variable in different parts of a country. We aimed to study the details of acute stroke patients who presented to a tertiary care private hospital in eastern India. We wanted to know how the patient’s family members, as well as private doctors in the community, responded to the acute stroke. Methodology: In this prospective and retrospective study for 2 years, from September 2021 to August 2023, we included patients over 18 years of age who presented with acute stroke symptoms within 24 h and were admitted to our hospital. In relation to an acute stroke, we noted patient demographics, clinical, radiological, and hematological details, treatment, and outcome (in hospital and after 3 months). Results: We included 366 patients and found that 74% were hypertensives and 50% were diabetics. We thrombolyzed 24 patients and performed mechanical thrombectomy on eight of them. In a significant number of cases, patients arrived late (only 45 out of 366 were candidates for acute stroke intervention), and attendants were not immediately ready with their consent for 15 of these 45 patients. Conclusion: We urgently need more public awareness programs to educate everyone about the “acute stroke pathway” and help them confidently accept the benefits and drawbacks of acute stroke intervention. We need to institute more stroke prevention clinics at the earliest to address the modifiable risk factors of stroke.