The Stroke Data Bank: design, methods, and baseline characteristics.

TLDR

The National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke launched the Stroke Data Bank as a multicenter effort to prospectively gather information on stroke clinical course and sequelae. The study aimed to supply data for a standardized diagnostic evaluation, identify prognostic factors, and generate planning information for future research. It enrolled 1,805 patients from July 1983 to June 1986, collecting detailed medical, neurologic, and hospitalization histories organized by stroke subtype—including infarction, embolism, atherosclerotic infarction, lacune, intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and others. Two thirds of participants were admitted within 24 hours of stroke onset, and the study discusses the utility and limitations of the collected data.

Abstract

The National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke initiated the Stroke Data Bank, which is a multicenter project to prospectively collect data on the clinical course and sequelae of stroke. Additional objectives were to provide information that would enable a standard diagnostic clinical evaluation, to identify prognostic factors, and to provide planning data for future studies. A brief description of the structure and methods precede the baseline characterization of 1,805 patients enrolled in the Stroke Data Bank between July 1983 and June 1986. Two thirds of these patients were admitted within 24 hours after stroke onset. Medical history, neurologic history, and hospitalization summaries are presented separately for the following stroke subtypes: infarction, unknown cause; embolism from cardiac source; infarction due to atherosclerosis; lacune; parenchymatous or intracerebral hemorrhage; subarachnoid hemorrhage; and other. The utility and limitations of these data are discussed.