Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Aphasia After Acute Ischemic Stroke in Romania: Epidemiology and Impact on Tertiary Care Resources

Adina Stan
,
Stefan Strilciuc
* ORCID logo ,
Nicoleta Gherghel
,
Angela Cozma
,
Cristian Alexander
,
Silvina Ilut
,
Alina Blesneag
,
Vitalie Vacaras
,
Delia Stanca
,
Horatiu Stan
,
Dafin Fior Muresanu
Version 1 : Received: 31 August 2021 / Approved: 2 September 2021 / Online: 2 September 2021 (14:39:03 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

STAN, A.; STRILCIUC, S.; GHERGHEL, N.; COZMA, A.; CRISTIAN, A.; ILUT, S.; BLESNEAG, A.; VACARAS, V.; STANCA, D.; STAN, H.; et al. Aphasia after Acute Ischemic Stroke: Epidemiology and Impact on Tertiary Care Resources. Balneo and PRM Research Journal, 2021, 376–380. https://doi.org/10.12680/balneo.2021.465. STAN, A.; STRILCIUC, S.; GHERGHEL, N.; COZMA, A.; CRISTIAN, A.; ILUT, S.; BLESNEAG, A.; VACARAS, V.; STANCA, D.; STAN, H.; et al. Aphasia after Acute Ischemic Stroke: Epidemiology and Impact on Tertiary Care Resources. Balneo and PRM Research Journal, 2021, 376–380. https://doi.org/10.12680/balneo.2021.465.

Abstract

We aimed to reveal the disease burden of aphasia after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) at the national level and investigate the impact of aphasia on tertiary care resources and patient outcomes. The local database from the Cluj-Napoca Emergency County Hospital (CNECH), the second largest stroke center in Romania was used to export demographics, baseline clinical and laboratory data, inpatient length of stay (LOS), NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and discharge modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score data for all AIS patients admitted during March 2019. Of 92 patients included in the study, 30 (32.6 %) had aphasia on admission. In a marginally significant unadjusted hierarchical multiple regression model, individuals with aphasia had a LOS of 1.86 days longer than stroke survivors without aphasia. In an adjusted version of the model, the NIHSS score at baseline was a significant predictor for LOS. In addition, the presence of aphasia was associated with a 1.49 increase in the mean mRS score. Aphasia was a marginally significant predictor for increased LOS. Presence of aphasia was more likely to produce a poor functional outcome. Considering an estimated impact of approximately EUR 3 million on direct medical expenditure annually, future policymaking efforts should improve prevention of stroke and improved access to post-stroke aphasia care in Romania.

Keywords

aphasia; acute ischemic stroke; length of stay; mRS; NIHSS

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Neuroscience and Neurology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Download PDF

Comments (0)

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 0
Metrics 0
Get PDF Cite Share 0
Bookmark BibSonomy Mendeley Reddit Delicious
×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.