AbstractIntroduction: Ischemic stroke is an important non communicable disease worldwide. The number of patients suffering stroke due to Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is expected to further increase with regards to the raising trend of T2DM. Due to the unequivocal association between T2DM and ischemic stroke, it is unclear whether patients with T2DM suffer severe forms of strokes or have worse functional outcome following stroke. Aim of the study: To evaluate the severity of stroke and its functional outcome in patients with T2DM. Materials & method: A prospective study was conducted on 195 patients of suspected stroke, fulfilling the inclusion criteria presenting to the emergency department of our institute during a period of 1 year. Diagnosis of stroke was made by symptoms at presentation and confirmed by CT/MRI brain scan. Data entry was done by Questionnaire on National Institute of Health Stroke Score (NIHSS) at the time of admission and Modified Ranking Stroke Score (mRS) at the time of discharge for each patient and analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20.0). Results: T2DM was present in 54% of study population. Patient with T2DM had high NIHSS at admission; however mRS score at the time of hospital discharge did not differ statistically (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Patients with T2DM suffered a severe form of stroke than non-diabetics.
Keywords: Acute ischemic stroke; NIHSS; mRS score; Type 2 DM.