Demographic and clinical characteristics of inpatient stroke patients in Turkey

Duygu Geler Külcü ¹ ,Banu Kuran ² ,Ali Yavuz Karahan ³ ,Neşe Özgirgin ⁴ ,Sibel Başaran ⁵ ,Ayşe Yalıman ⁶ ,Serpil Savaş ⁷ ,Canan Tıkız ⁸ ,İlknur Aktaş ⁹ ,Ayşenur Bardak ¹⁰ ,Tiraje Tuncer ¹¹ ,Figen Yılmaz ² ,Belgin Erhan ¹² ,Hülya Şirzai ¹³ ,Berna Çelik ¹⁰ ,Gülgün Durlanık ² ,Beril Doğu ² ,Jülide Öncü ² ,Berrin Hüner ¹⁴ ,Gülcan Öztürk ⁹ ,Nurten Eskiyurt ⁶ ,F. Merih Akpınar ⁶ ,Feyza Ünlü Özkan ⁹ ,Nurdan Paker ¹⁰ ,Derya Soy Buğdaycı ¹⁰ ,Berrin Gündüz ¹⁰ ,Özlem Şatır ¹⁰ ,Nilgün Şimşir Atalay ¹⁵ ,Necmettin Yıldız ¹⁵ ,Özlem Altındağ ¹⁶ ,Saliha Eroğlu Demir ¹⁷ ,Erkan Kaya ¹⁸ ,Demet Uçar ¹⁹ ,Aylin Sarı ²⁰ ,Gülçin Kaymak Karataş ²¹ ,Özden Özyemişçi Taşkıran ²²

¹ Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Haydarpaşa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
² Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Şişli Hamidiye Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
³ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Konya Numune Hospital, Konya, Turkey
⁴ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ankara Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
⁵ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine, Adana, Turkey
⁶ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
⁷ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Süleyman Demirel University Faculty of Medicine, Isparta, Turkey
⁸ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Celal Bayar University Faculty of Medicine, Manisa, Turkey
⁹ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
¹⁰ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Istanbul Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
¹¹ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
¹² Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medeniyet University Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
¹³ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Istinye University Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
¹⁴ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Gaziosmanpaşa Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
¹⁵ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Pamukkale University Faculty of Medicine, Denizli, Turkey
¹⁶ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Gaziantep University Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep, Turkey
¹⁷ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Bezmialem Foundation University Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
¹⁸ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Bursa Military Hospital, Bursa, Turkey
¹⁹ Beykent University, Istanbul, Turkey
²⁰ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Erenköy Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
²¹ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Gazi University, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
²² Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Koç University, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey DOI : 10.5606/tftrd.2022.8171 Objectives: This study aims to assess the stroke rehabilitation facilities provided by university hospitals (UHs) and training and research hospitals (TRHs) and to evaluate the geographical disparities in stroke rehabilitation.

Patients and methods: Between April 2013 and April 2014 a total of 1,529 stroke patients (817 males, 712 females; mean age: 61.7±14.0 years; range, 12 to 91 years) who were admitted to the physical medicine and rehabilitation clinics in 20 tertiary care centers were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic, regional and clinical characteristics, details of rehabilitation period, functional status, and complications were collected.

Results: The median duration of stroke was five (range, 1 to 360) months. The ratio of the patients treated in the TRH in the Marmara region was 77%, but only 25% of the patients were living in the Marmara region. Duration of hospitalization was longer in the TRHs with a median of 28 days compared to those of UHs (median: 22 days) (p<0.0001). More than half of the patients (55%) were rehabilitated in the Marmara region. Time after stroke was the highest in the Southeast region with a median of 12 (range, 1 to 230) months and the lowest in the Aegean region with a median of four (range, 1 to 84) months.

Conclusion: This study provides an insight into the situation of stroke rehabilitation settings and characteristics of stroke patients in Turkey. A standard method of patient evaluation and a registry system may provide data about the efficacy of stroke rehabilitation and may help to focus on the problems that hinder a better outcome. Keywords : Rehabilitation, stroke, Turkey