The National Institute of Health Stroke Scale Score and Outcome in acute Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

Introduction: Stroke is a focal neurological deficit of sudden onset which lasts for more than 24 hours and has a vascular cause. Various prognostic indices derived from clinical features or patient characteristics and ancillary tests have been used to predict the prognosis of patients with acute ischemic stroke. The aim of this study was to find out the significance of the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score on admission in predicting the prognosis of patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Method: This is a prospective observational study done in a tertiary care hospital with two hundred patients with acute ischemic stroke

Result: Themean NIHSS score in patients with better outcome was 4.6 (± 2.2) and the mean NIHSS score in patients with poor outcome was 14.16(± 7.96). The difference was statistically significant (p=0.000).

Conclusion: The baseline neurological status as measured by the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score predicts the functional status at one month after acute ischemic stroke.