Abstract

Introduction: Scientific guidelines recommend the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) for ischemic stroke (IS) assessment. In Clinical Department of Neurology of Split University Hospital Center nurses use the categorization of patients (COP) according to individual needs for health care. Aim: The aim of this study was to demonstrate that there is a positive correlation between the COP and the NIHSS in IS patients. Methods: We analyzed NIHSS scores and COP findings in 325 participants (median age 77 years, min-max: 37-95 years) with acute ISs. Results: There is a statistically significant correlation between the NIHSS score at admission and COP at admission (ρ=0.717; P

Key words: ischemic stroke, nursing care, categorization of patient, The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.