A Nationwide Multi-Center Questionnaire Survey on the Real-World State and Clinical Management of Poststroke Dementia in Japan

Background: Poststroke dementia (PSD) is a serious problem for stroke survivors. However, there is still limited data on the real-world state and clinical management of PSD worldwide, and several countries already have a super-aged society. Objective: We conducted a nationwide questionnaire survey to examine the real-world state and management of PSD in Japan. Methods: A survey was conducted in the top 500 Japanese hospitals regarding the number of stroke patients treated between July 2018 and August 2019. Thirteen questions regarding PSD were mailed to doctors responsible for stroke management. Results: Responses were obtained from 251 hospitals (50.2%). The chief doctors responsible for stroke management answered the questionnaires. The median numbers of patients admitted annually with stroke in the departments of neurology and neurosurgery in the hospitals were 281.0 (interquartile range [IQR], 231.8-385.3) and 253.5 (IQR, 210.0-335.3), respectively, and most hospitals were acute care hospitals. Executive dysfunction was the most common cognitive dysfunction (10.9%), followed by amnesia (9.5%) and apathy (4.1%). Surprisingly, many stroke survivors lived alone at home (23.7%). Montreal Cognitive Assessment was significantly uncommon compared to Mini-Mental State Examination (p < 0.01). Furthermore, objective evaluation tests for behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia were not often performed. Cognitive rehabilitation treatments were performed more often and earlier than drug treatments. The first drug of choice for PSD was predominantly donepezil (79.1%), followed by galantamine (6.1%), cilostazol (4.9%), memantine (2.5%), and rivastigmine (1.8%). Conclusion: Our study provides real-world evidence for the state of clinical practice related to PSD in Japan.

Automated summary

The study in Japan revealed a high number of stroke patients in hospitals, with executive dysfunction being the most common cognitive impairment. Many stroke survivors live alone at home, and cognitive rehabilitation treatments are more commonly and earlier applied than drug treatments.