[Is very old age a prognostic factor for outcome after a first stroke?]

To determine whether very old age, older than 80 years, after a stroke is a significant predictor of mortality, orientation to a specific care pathway after the acute phase and functional status at 6 months after the stroke.A sample of 112 consecutive patients admitted to the emergency department because of a first stroke, with hemiplegia and/or aphasia over 6 months, who satisfied strict inclusion/exclusion criteria. Forty-seven patients were older than 80.After initial diagnosis and enrolment in the study, follow-up assessments were conducted at 48 hours, 15 days and 6 months. Demographic, medical, and radiographic data were collected, and patients were evaluated on the NIHSS, MMSE, Barthel Index, FIM(TM) and FAM scales. Descriptive statistics were generated, as were uni- and multivariate between group comparisons.Our study shows that after a first stroke, old age is significantly associated with a high rate of death, a low rate of orientation to a physical medicine and rehabilitation unit and return to home but not poorer functional outcome.Old age is therefore a determinant of post stroke management. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether in patient rehabilitation would result in significant functional benefit, considering the high cost of care, high risk of recurrent stroke, and high rate of death.