The Lausanne Stroke Registry: analysis of 1,000 consecutive patients with first stroke.

We present epidemiologic, etiologic, and clinical data for 1,000 consecutive patients with a first stroke (cerebral infarction or hemorrhage) admitted to the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois since 1982. The patients were evaluated using a standard protocol of tests (computed tomography, Doppler ultrasonography, and electrocardiography in all patients, as well as angiography and specific cardiac investigations in selected patients). Each case was coded prospectively into a computerized registry. We believe that the Lausanne Stroke Registry is the first registry with complete computed tomography and Doppler ultrasonography data on all patients, which allows correlation between clinical findings, presumed etiology, and stroke location. Although the Lausanne Stroke Registry is not population-based, it gives a good estimate of the stroke-related problems in patients admitted to a primary-care center since our hospital is the sole acute-care facility for stroke in the Lausanne area.