Status of Cerebrovascular Accidents (CVA) in Bangui, Central African Republic: Contribution of Computerised Tomography (CT)

A stroke is a focal or global cerebral deficit lasting more than 24 hours from vascular origin. It is a diagnostic and therapeutic emergency. It is a serious condition because it is potentially fatal or can cause disability. CT plays a key role in the diagnosis of these lesions. The Aim of Our Work was to describe the radiological and clinical aspects of these lesions for better management. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study involving patients of both sexes referred for cerebral CT in the medical imaging department in Bangui over a 12-month period from January to December 2022. All patients with a stroke diagnosed by a CT scan were included in the study. Results: During the study period, 550 CT scans were performed, of which 198 strokes were diagnosed by cerebral CT scan, representing a frequency of 36%. There was a male predominance with a sex ratio of 1.4. The average age of onset was 59 ± 12 years. High blood pressure was the predominant risk factor for stroke in 42 cases (52.5%). The clinical signs were dominated by sensory-motor deficits in 74 cases (36.8%), followed by hemiparesis in 50 cases (24.9%). On CT scan, ischaemic stroke predominated with 165 cases (83.3%) and haemorrhagic stroke in 33 cases (16.7%). The topography of the lesions was predominantly supratentorial in 180 cases (90.9%) in the Sylvian artery territory. The correlation between risk factors and this condition revealed a statistically significant link between high blood pressure and the onset of stroke p < 0.00001. Conclusion: CT plays a key role in the diagnosis of stroke. Ischemic stroke is by far the most common type, preferentially located in the capsulo-lenticular or capsulo-thalamic region.