Background and Purpose: Though there have been many reports on poststroke seizures, there is still much we do not know about them. Using a large cohort of stroke patients we analyzed the characteristics of the seizure(s) and the rate and factors involved in seizure recurrence. Methods: Out of the 3,205 patients admitted for a first-ever stroke to our department between 1984 and 1994, we retrospectively studied the data of all patients with a first-ever seizure and analyzed their evolution. Two types of seizure(s) were defined: ‘early-onset’ seizures (occurring within the 14 days following the stroke) and ‘late-onset’ ones (after the 14th day). Results: 159 patients were included in the study, i.e. 4.96%. There were 116 ischemic strokes and 43 primary hematomas. Cortical involvement was found in 87% of the patients. Early-onset seizures occurred in 57 patients and late-onset ones in 102 patients, 76% of which were observed within 2 years. Follow-up was performed in 135 patients with a mean follow-up period of 47 months; 68 of them presented a seizure recurrence. A 2nd seizure occurred more often in the patients with late-onset seizures (p < 0.01); recurrence was either single (24 patients) or multiple (44 patients). Univariate analysis demonstrated 3 factors for multiple recurrences: hemorrhagic component, low Rankin scale after the initial seizure and occipital involvement. Multivariate analysis determined 2 factors: occipital involvement and late onset of the 1st seizure as a predictive model of multiple recurrences. Conclusions: This study confirms that poststroke seizures are frequent and must be divided into 2 types: early-onset (≤14 days) and late-onset seizures. It demonstrates that a significantly lower rate of patients with early-onset seizures develop another seizure, i.e. epilepsy, than do patients with late-onset seizures. Other factors are involved in recurrence suggesting that poststroke epilepsy probably occurs in a chronically injured brain. The problem of treatment remain unanswered.
The purpose of this study was to estimate the frequency of various risk factors, courses and outcome of stroke subtypes in a large hospital-based stroke registry. The Centre Hospitalier Universitaire of Besançon is the only public hospital with a neurological department in the county to admit any unselected patient with an acute stroke. A prospective hospital-based registry using systematic computer coding of data was conducted. All patients were evaluated by standard testing (neuroimaging, Doppler ultrasonography and cardiac investigations). From 1987 to 1994, 2,500 stroke patients with a first-ever stroke were included in the Besançon Stroke Registry. There were 1,425 men (mean age 66.1 years) and 1,075 women (mean age 70.6 years). Ischemic stroke was present in 84% of the patients (cerebral infarction in 84.5% and transient ischemic attacks in 15.5%), primary intracerebral hemorrhage (PIH) in 14.2% and cerebral venous thrombosis in 1.8%. On the 1st day of the stroke 79.7% of the patients were admitted, 47.1% within 6 h. In addition, stroke severity was well correlated with the time of the patient''s admission. Past medical history of hypertension was the major risk factor occurring in 55.8% of all patients, followed by smoking, atrial fibrillation, ischemic heart disease, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes mellitus. Clinical presentation was distributed according to classical patterns. The in-hospital mortality rate was 13.6% and was higher in patients with infarcts (13.7%) or PIH (25.6%). Logistic regression analysis determined independent predictive factors for death: deterioration at 48 h [odds ratio (OR) 10.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 7.0-14.5], initial loss of consciousness (OR 4.5, 95% CI 3.1-6.4), age <70 (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.8-3.8), complete motor deficit (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.3-2.8), major cognitive syndrome (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-2.3), hyperglycemia at admission (OR 1.007, 95% CI 1.004-1.01), female gender (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.5-0.9) and regressive stroke onset (OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.1-0.5). The Besançon Stroke Registry is a useful tool for the study of the risk factors, clinical features, and the course of strokes in an early phase.
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