27^th Euro-Global Neurologists Meeting

Statement of the Problem: Presently, there is limited information on stroke care in the very old (80 years and older). Population aging is a summary term to describe shifts in the age distribution of a population toward older ages, most marked in highly developed countries. The number of people aged 80 and above is growing faster than any other age group. In 2006, people aged 80 and over were approximately 19% of the population in developed countries and around 10% in developing countries. The purpose of this study is to evaluate vascular risk factors, stroke subtypes and clinical outcomes in very old patients admitted at our hospital with acute stroke. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: We included in this study 252 stroke patients admitted to Service of Neurovascular Disorders in University Hospital Centre “Mother Teresa”, Tirana, Albania from February 2015 to December 2016. We assess if there were any significant differences between patients under 80 years old compared with older patients (80 years or older), with regard to vascular risk factors, stroke type and clinical outcome. Findings: Of 252 patients, 189 patients were less than 80 years, 63 were 80 years old and older. Younger patients were more

likely to have diabetes (30.6% versus 16.2%, p<0.001).Older patients were more likely to have ischemic heart disease (38% versus 30.1% p=0.02), or atrial fibrillation (34.5% versus 15.2%, p<0.001).Older patients were more likely to have Total Anterior Circulation Infarcts (TACI) strokes (17.6% versus 11.1%, p<0.009) or Partial Anterior Circulation Infarct strokes (PACI) (30.1% versus 23.5%, p=0. 04)Outcome data, which was available for 91% patients, showed that older patients stayed longer in hospital (median length of stay 23 days versus 18 days, (p=0.008) and had a higher inpatient mortality 14% versus 3.7%, (p<0.001). Conclusion & Significance: Very elderly patients have a different risk factor profile, have more anterior circulation infarcts and have a worse prognosis-with increased mortality and increased length of stay in hospital.