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Recurrence after first cerebral infarction in young adults
Author(s) -
Camerlingo M.,
Casto L.,
Censori B.,
Ferraro B.,
Caverni L.,
Manara O.,
Finazzi G.,
Radice E.,
Drago G.,
De Tommasi S. M.,
Gotti E.,
Barbui T.,
Mamoli A.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0404.2000.102002087.x
Subject(s) - medicine , stroke (engine) , cerebral infarction , incidence (geometry) , infarction , pediatrics , surgery , myocardial infarction , ischemia , mechanical engineering , physics , optics , engineering
Objective – We have investigated recurrence of stroke in a consecutive series of young adults, aged 16 to 45 years, after a first cerebral infarction. Methods – From January 1, 1988 to December 31, 1996 we submitted those patients to a diagnostic protocol including angiographic, cardiological, and haematological investigations. The patients were followed at 6 month intervals up to December 31, 1998. Results – We have evaluated and followed‐up 135 patients, 71 men and 64 women, who were 3.99% of all the admitted stroke patients. At 12 months after stroke, 83 patients had returned to work, 40 patients were mildly to moderately handicapped, 4 were using a wheel‐chair, and 8 had died. Follow‐up was 26 to 123 months (mean 68.8). Recurrence of stroke, always of ischaemic nature, was seen in 15 patients (11.1%), 3 to 76 months after the first stroke (mean 27.4), for an annual incidence of 2.26%. Recurrence was significantly associated with Partial Anterior Circulation Syndrome and Haematological subtype of first stroke (respectively, P =0.0209 and P =0.0135, ξ 2 test), but not with age (≤ or >35 years) or risk factors. Repetition of stroke was never fatal, but it caused heavy disability in 13 patients, 8 of whom had completely or nearly completely recovered after the first event. Conclusions – Our data suggest that recurrence of stroke is a major clinical problem also for the patients aged less than 45 years and that it might be more frequent with specific clinical syndromes and etiologic subtypes of first stroke.