Abstract Background and aims Stroke is a leading cause of chronic disease burden in South-East Asia (SEA). This study reviews recent published data on stroke subtypes, mechanisms and risk factors among hospitalised stroke patients in SEA. Methods A Pubmed search of hospital-based stroke registries was performed. The search terms ‘stroke’ AND (‘Brunei OR Burma OR Myanmar OR Cambodia OR Indonesia OR Laos OR Leste OR Malaysia OR Papua OR Philippines OR Singapore OR Thailand OR Vietnam’) were used. All available years were included. Inclusion criteria were 1. Hospitalised patients were studied 2. All acute strokes included, or all ischaemic strokes (IS) subtyped by TOAST criteria. Data was extracted on stroke subtypes (IS, intracerebral haemorrhage ICH, subarachnoid haemorrhage SAH), mechanisms of IS (based on TOAST criteria), and stroke risk factors. Recent multi-centre studies were preferred over single-centre stuies. Results A total of 7099 papers were identified by the search terms. Among 8 countries, IS was the most frequent subtype (61.4-80%) except for Myanmar where HS was almost more frequent (49.2%) than IS. Among 4 countries, Small Artery Occlusion was the most common IS mechanism (37-42.3%), though Large Artery Atherosclerosis was the most frequent in Indonesia (59.6%). Hypertension was the most common stroke risk factor, highest in Indonesia (82.3%) and lowest in Thailand (53%). There was variability in the frequency of diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidaemia, smoking, previous stroke/TIA, atrial fibrillation, and ischaemic heart disease. Conclusions There are variations in characteristics among hospitalised stroke patients in SEA. Multi-centre studies are needed to corroborate these findings and investigate differences. Conflict of interest Nothing to disclose
Narayanaswamy Venketasubramanian (Fri,) studied this question.