What Strategy for a Severe Stroke in Africa: Palliative Care or Unreasonable Obstinacy?

Introduction: Palliative care, firstly used for chronic diseases, is currently indicated for some acute pathology such as Stroke. Its implementation improves the quality of care for end-of-life patients. The aim of our study is to report a series of patients who died in the intensive care stroke unit of Brazzaville. Method: It was a descriptive study of a series of 13 cases of severe stroke, admitted to the intensive care unit of the university hospital of Brazzaville, between January 2015 and December 2017. Sociodemographic, clinical, paraclinical and prognostic variables were studied. Result: The mean age of the patients was 46 ± 11.5 years with a male predominance in 69.2% (n = 9). They were all hypertensive. The motor deficit and consciousness disorder association was the reason for admission in 84.6% (n = 11) and an epileptic seizure of 15.4% (n = 2). The mean NIHSS at admission was 21 ± 5, that of Glasgow 6 ± 3. Stroke was hemorrhagic in 84.6% (n = 11) and malignant infarction in 15.4% (n = 2). All of these patients received invasive resuscitation with assisted ventilation and all died within 8 days of admission. Conclusion: The issue of limitation of care deserves to be debated, and is proposed on a case-by-case basis, in the face of a serious stroke. Therapeutic relentlessness is not only expensive, but also raises the problem of suffering of the individual at the end of life.