Background & Purpose: Post-stroke fatigue (PSF) is rife among stroke survivors and it exerts a detrimental toll on recovery from functional deficits. The burden of PSF is unknown in sub-Saharan Africa. We have assessed the prevalence, trajectory and predictors of PSF among 60 recent Ghanaian stroke patients.Methods: Study participants in this prospective cohort (recruited between January/2017 and June/2017) were stroke survivors, aged >18 years, with CT scan confirmed stroke of less than 1month onset. PSF was assessed using the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) at enrollment, months 3, 6, and 9. Those with a score of ≥4 points on FSS were categorized as "fatigued". A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of PSF at enrollment and at month 9.Results: Sixty-five percent (65%) of our sample were males with a mean age of 55.1 ± 12.7 years. In addition to all participants having hypertension, 85% had dyslipidemia and 25% had diabetes mellitus. Ischemic strokes comprised 76.6% of the study population. The prevalence of PSF was 58.9% at baseline and declined to 23.6% at month 9, p=0.0002. Diabetes mellitus was significantly associated with PSF at baseline with an adjusted odds ratio of 15.12 (95% CI: 1.70 -134.30), p=0.01. However, at month 9, age ≥65 years, aOR of 7.02 (95% CI: 1.16 -42.52); female sex, aOR of 8.52 (1.23 -59.16) and depression, aOR of 8.86 (1.19 -65.88) were independently associated with PSF.
Patients with sickle cell disease and COVID‐19 may not have a more dire outcome than the general population. Nevertheless, they may present with acute chest syndrome and other sickle cell crises which should be aggressively managed.
Ventricular standstill is a rare cardiac event associated with a high mortality. It is considered a ventricular fibrillation equivalent. The longer the duration, the poorer the prognosis. It is therefore unusual for an individual to have recurrent episodes of standstill and survive, without morbidity and rapid mortality. Here, we report the unique case of a 67-year-old male, previously diagnosed with heart disease, requiring intervention, who lived with recurrent syncopal episodes for a decade. Though such occurrences have previously been documented, we seek to stress the importance of using clinical tools in assessing what could easily have been passed off as orthostatic in origin.
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