article · PLoS ONE
Stroke causes significant mortality and disability globally, particularly impacting low- and middle-income nations facing resource constraints. Tracking patient vitals during the initial phase is crucial for identifying complications early. A prospective cohort study of 306 first-time stroke patients admitted to Mloganzila Hospital in Tanzania compared the effects of 6-hourly intensive vital signs monitoring against standard 12-hourly monitoring during the initial 72 hours of admission. The majority of participants presented with haemorrhagic stroke. While functional disability and stroke severity showed no significant variance between the two cohorts at 72 hours, the intensive monitoring group achieved a marked drop in 30-day all-cause mortality, recording 35.9 percent compared to 49.7 percent in the standard monitoring group. Implementing frequent, structured monitoring protocols can enhance clinical stability and prevent deaths in resource-limited clinical environments.
In healthcare environments with limited resources, reducing stroke deaths often requires low-cost, readily implementable interventions. This research demonstrates that simply doubling the frequency of routine vital sign checks during the first three days of hospitalisation substantially lowers thirty-day mortality, providing clear evidence to guide hospital care protocols without requiring expensive new therapies.
This research provides clinical evidence directly applicable to hospital administrators, healthcare providers, and policy makers establishing dedicated stroke care units in resource-limited settings. The intervention involves operational clinical protocols rather than a commercial product, representing an applied and tested healthcare practice that can be integrated immediately into routine hospital nursing routines to improve acute stroke survival rates.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
BACKGROUND: Stroke is a leading cause of mortality and disability worldwide, with disproportionate impacts in low- and middle-income countries due to limited healthcare resources. Monitoring vital signs during the acute phase of a stroke is critical for detecting complications. We aimed to assess the impact of intensive (6-hourly) versus usual practice (12-hourly) vital sign monitoring strategies on stroke outcomes at Mloganzila Hospital, Tanzania. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of patients with first-ever stroke admitted to Mloganzila Hospital between October 2023 and March 2024. Participants were assigned to 6-hourly or 12-hourly vital signs monitoring for the first 72 hours, after which all received usual care. Monitoring frequency reflected routine clinical practice; no investigational treatments were introduced, and therapeutic decisions were unaffected by group allocation. The primary outcome was 30-day all-cause mortality; secondary outcomes included functional disability measured by the modified Rankin Scale. Ethical approval was obtained, and informed consent was secured. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 and Stata version 15. Survival was assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis, and factors associated with 30-day mortality identified using modified Poisson regression. RESULTS: Of 306 participants (mean age: 59.6 ± 14.0 years; 53.6% male), 63.7% experienced a hemorrhagic stroke. There were no significant differences in stroke severity or functional disability at 72 hours between the groups. Intensive vital signs monitoring was associated with significantly lower 30-day mortality compared to usual monitoring (35.9% vs. 49.7%; p = 0.015). CONCLUSION: Frequent monitoring of vital signs during the acute phase of stroke may enhance clinical stability and improve patient outcomes. Our findings demonstrate a significant reduction in 30-day mortality with intensive monitoring. These findings support the establishment of dedicated stroke units with structured monitoring protocols in resource-limited settings to strengthen stroke care systems and reduce preventable deaths.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0328710
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
