EQ-5D-5L Assessment After 90 Days in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients: Results and Conclusions

OBJECTIVES: Stroke is a serious health problem with a significant impact on health-related quality of life. Despite the increasing popularity of measuring quality of life among patients, it is not regularly measured in clinical practice, hence little is known about the extent to which clinical measures reflect quality of life after stroke. The aim of our study is to examine the quality of life of patients who have experienced acute ischemic stroke at the 90-day follow-up.

METHODS: Patients were divided into intravenous thrombolysis (IVT), mechanical thrombectomy (MT) and standard care (SC) groups according to treatment. We used the NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and the European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions Scale (EQ-5D-5L). The admission NIHSS was recorded after hospital admission, before the intervention, while the discharge NIHSS was recorded in person on the day of discharge, while still in the hospital. The average hospital stay was 5 days. EQ-5D-5L was recorded in person on days 1-2 post-intervention, while EQ-5D-5L 2 was recorded via telephone after hospital discharge, on day 90 after hospital admission. The study period lasted from April 2022 to July 2023.

RESULTS: The number of participants was 191 (MT: 48, IVT: 68, SC: 75). Significant changes in NIHSS scores were observed in all three groups. (IVT: 4.25 vs. 1.41, p<0.001; MT: 8.94 vs. 4.33, p<0.001, SC: 4.16 vs. 2.61 p<0.001). EQ-5D-5L scores also increased significantly in all groups after 90 days (IVT: 0.83 vs. 0.90 p<0.001; MT: 0.64 vs. 0.78, p<0.001, SC:0.77 vs. 0.86 p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the EQ-5D-5L assessment is an effective tool for monitoring long-term functional and quality of life changes after acute ischemic stroke. It is important that these types of measures are more widely used in clinical practice to maximize patient rehabilitation and quality of life improvements in the post-stroke period.