Abstract:
Introduction: Stroke is a clinical diagnosis for which CT is the mainstay of investigation. The diagnostic comparisons between the clinical and the CT diagnosis of stroke and the impact of the latter on management are unclear in the local setting.
Materials and Methods: Fifty admissions with the clinical diagnosis of stroke to the University Medical unit were studied for three months. Data on the time and mode of admission, the sub-type of clinical diagnosis (infarct, intracerebral and subarachnoid haemorrhage), CT diagnosis and the impact of CT diagnosis on the management were recorded.
Results: Females accounted for 52%. Cerebral infarctions were commoner than the haemorrhage (56% and 12%, respectively). The sub-typing of stroke was identical to the clinical diagnosis in 44% of patients. The sensitivity of the clinical diagnosis is highest in SAH (75%) followed by infarction (61%) and ICH (6%). The specificity was highest in SAH (98%) followed by ICH (70%) and cerebral infarction (36%).
Conclusion: CT brain has improved the diagnostic accuracy of stroke. It has contributed for better management. As the clinical diagnosis of the sub-typing of stroke is correct in less than 50%, CT scan is mandatory for all patients with stroke in the local setting.
