Hospital care of cerebrovascular accident and the state of patients 12 months after

Objectives. Cerebrovascular accident should be of key importance due to its magnitude in terms of mortality and disabilty. In this study we describe hospital care of patients and follow them one year after. The aims is to uncover areas of improvement in the care of patients. Patients and methods. Observational study of a ramdomized sample of 535 patient with a diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease, during de acute phase and 12 months after using clinical records and telephone interview. Results. Thirty five percent of patients arrived within 6 hours of the occurrence of the event. Thirty six percent had a CAT/MNR withim 6 hours. Mortality at hospital whas 13,8% increasing up to 26% at 12 months. At discharge 49% had a neurological deficiency. At 12 months 35,8% of the survivors interviewed showed a Barthel Index of less than 95 points. Conclusions. Organizational mesures that guarantee a quick and systematic assessment of brain lesions, early diagnosis and active therapeutic offer, have to be implemented. In the sample studied, only 3% of the patient were candidates to thrombolytic therapy. Rehabilitation can and should play a more relevant role in the prevention of sequelae.