Post-stroke Seizures: A Prospective Study from a tertiary care setting in Karachi

Abstract

Aim: To determine the frequency and outcome of seizures after acute ischemic stroke in a tertiary care setting in Pakistan.
Methodology: A prospective, cross-sectional study was done at Liaquat National Hospital over a year. The outcome of interest was the occurrence of seizures during the one-year follow-up and death following stroke. Data was compiled and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 26. Mean and standard deviations were calculated for the quantitative variables. Frequencies and percentages were reported for the qualitative variables. Effect modifiers were controlled through stratification to see the effect of these on outcome variables by chi-square and Fisher exact test. Odds ratios were calculated by binary logistic regression.
Results: A total of 126 patients were involved with acute ischemic stroke, 74(58.7%) of them were men. Patients' average age was 62.20±13.86 years, with 69(54.8%) of them being over 60. Seizures were observed in 14(11.1%) of patients, with most being early-onset 12(85.7%). The type of seizures observed included partial seizures in 10(71.4%) of cases and generalized seizures in 4(28.6%). Patients who have seizures are more likely to die than patients without seizures (OR=1.742, p=0.372).
Conclusion: The reported occurrence of post-stroke seizures in our study is in line with what has been described in earlier research conducted on a global scale. Notably, our study identified a higher prevalence of early-onset seizures, with partial seizures being more common than generalized seizures in our findings.
Keywords: Seizures, stroke, follow-up study