Stroke and Aphasia in Tertiary Hospital in East Java

Abstract

Introduction: Aphasia is a language disorder caused by damage in the language areas of the brain. One of the main causes of aphasia is stroke. There are currently not many studies describing the profiles of stroke patients, especially those with aphasia. This study aims to describe and compare the profiles of stroke patients, with and without aphasia. Method: This study used a descriptive analytic design with a cross-sectional method to describe the profiles of a sample of 217 stroke patients who were admitted to Dr. Soetomo General Hospital Surabaya in 2019-2020. Medical records were used to collect the data. Results: Aphasia occurrence was observed in 13.3% of the patients. The mean age of the population was 57.6±12.1 years, and the majority of the patients were male. Hemorrhagic stroke was the most seen type of stroke, but the aphasia ratio was higher in ischemic stroke patients. Global aphasia occurred in 37.93% of the aphasic patients. As much as 48.27% of patients with aphasia had strokes on the left hemisphere. No significant difference has been found between patients with and without aphasia for age, gender, risk factor, and stroke hemisphere variables, but there is an inclination towards aphasia in patient with left hemisphere strokes. Conclusion: Aphasia is seen more in middle-aged male patients and ischemic stroke patients in the left hemisphere. Global aphasia is the most seen subtype of aphasia. There is a tendency of patients with stroke on the left hemisphere to have aphasia.