OBJECTIVES: Stroke is the leading cause of death in developed countries. The aim of our study is to examine the quality of life of patients who underwent acute ischemic stroke according to differen sociodemographic factors.

METHODS: Patients were selected by convenience sampling technique at the Department of Neurology Clinical Centre of the University of Pécs with a diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke between June and April 2022. Patients were classified according to treatment into intravenous thrombolysis (IVT), mechanical thrombectomy (MT) and standard care (SC) groups. We used validated questionnaires (Modified Rankin Scale-mRS, NIHSS score, EQ-5D-5L). Descriptive statistics, paired T-test, Wilcoxon test, Pearson correlation were used for the analysis (SPSS 25.0; p <0.05).

RESULTS: 112 people were involved in the research (70 male, 42 female). Compared to mRS before the stroke, the 30-day mRS score demonstrated a deterioration in all three groups (IVT: 0.58 vs. 0.97, p=0.029; MT: 0.81 vs. 1.46, p=0.010; SC: 0.74 vs. 1.30, p<0.001). The NIHSS value before and after the intervention improved significantly for two groups (IVT: 4.11 vs. 1.64, p<0.001; MT: 7.50 vs. 3.54, p<0.001), while the improvement in the standard treatment was not significant (SC: 4.28 vs. 3.54, p=0.340). The EQ-5D value increased significantly 1-3 days after the intervention and on day 30 in the case of one group (MT: 0.70 vs. 0.81, p=0.029), in two groups the improvement was not significant (IVT: 0, 84 vs. 0.88, p=0.071; SC: 0.75 vs. 0.80, p=0.135). Patients who were enrolled with a lower NIHSS value (NIHSS≤10) reported better EQ-5D-5L quality of life at day 30 (r: -0.36033).

CONCLUSIONS: At day 30, the NIHSS value in the MT and IVT groups improved significantly. The EQ-5D quality of life value increased significantly only in the thrombectomy group.