Prevalence of Pre-existing Cognitive Impairment in Intracerebral Hemorrhage: A Pilot Study from a Tertiary Stroke Care Center, Kolkata

Pages: 564-568
Ushasi Banerjee, Sadanand Dey, and Jayanta Roy (AMRI Hospitals, Mukundapur, Kolkata, West Bengal)

Latest literature on stroke and cognition suggests the possible presence of pre-existing cognitive impairment in atleast 10-15% of stroke patients. This pilot study was conducted in a tertiary stroke care center in Kolkata, and it’s primary aim was to find the prevalence of pre-existing cognitive impairment in patients with intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) and explore the various factors associated to it. Patients with only acute ICH were included in the study. Pre-existing cognitive impairment was determined through the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE-S). An IQCODE score of ≥3.44 was considered cut-off for the presence of cognitive impairment and >4.00- for dementia. Socio-demographics, cardiovascular risk factors and neuro-imaging data were reviewed to find a pattern or association with cognitive decline prior to the stroke occurrence. Thirty (n=30) participants were included in the study having a mean age was 61years; 20 (67%) were male (2:1). A high prevalence of pre-ICH cognitive impairment (60%) was observed with 13% patients detected having pre-ICH dementia. Among all other factors studied, pre-ICH cognitive impairment was found to have a close association with smoking and stroke severity. The study findings goes with the emerging line of literature that states cognitive impairment seems to precede ICH.