Burden, clinical outcomes and predictors of time to in hospital mortality among adult patients admitted to stroke unit of Jimma university medical center: a prospective cohort study

Abstract Background The global burden of stroke epidemiology is changing rapidly. Over the 1990–2013 periods, there was a significant increase in the absolute number of deaths and incident events of stroke. The burden of stroke varies in Ethiopia between regions and over time. Hence, this study was aimed to assess the burden, clinical outcomes and predictors of time to in hospital mortality among stroke patients. Methods A prospective cohort study was carried at stroke unit of Jimma University Medical Center (JUMC) from March 10–July 10, 2017. The outcome of interest was mortality and time to death. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Multivariable Cox regression was used to identify the predictors of in hospital mortality and time to death from hospital arrival. Predictor variable with P 13 during hospital arrival (AHR: 22.58, 95% CI: 2.95–172.56) and diagnosis of stroke clinically alone (AHR: 4.96, 95% CI: 1.96–12.54) were the independent predictors of time to in hospital mortality. Conclusions The mortality rate of stroke in this setup was comparable with other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). There is an urgent need to establish well equipped and staffed stroke units in the country in addition to strengthening the already existing one’s. Furthermore, future work must be designed to identify the barriers to improve stroke outcomes and recovery.