Few studies have addressed early cerebrovascular lethality in Brazil.
Objective: To evaluate 10 and 28-day stroke case-fatality rates in three hospitals in three Brazilian cities.
Methods: We described the stroke registries in São Paulo, João Pessoa, and Natal.
Results: Out of a total of 962 first-ever events (mean age, 68.1 years-old; 53% men), 83.6% (804 cases) were classified as ischemic and 16.4% (158) as hemorrhagic stroke. Overall, the case-fatality rates and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) for hemorrhagic stroke events were higher than for ischemic events, both at 10 (12.3%; 95%CI 7.2-17.4 versus 7.0%; 95%CI 5.3-8.8) and at 28 days (19.8%; 95%CI 13.6-26.0 versus 11.1%; 95%CI 8.9-13.3).
Conclusions: We did not find any substantial differences in early case-fatality rates according to stroke subtypes, when comparing the three centers.