South London Stroke Register

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  The South London Stroke Register: Improving the lives of stroke survivors with data

• IRAS ID

  300247

• Contact name

  Reza Razavi

• Contact email

  +44 (0)207 8483224

• Sponsor organisation

  King's College London

• Duration of Study in the UK

  4 years, 11 months, 31 days

• Research summary

  The South London Stroke Register (SLSR) is a long-running observational study (since 1995) which investigates the incidence (how many strokes occur per year) and outcomes of stroke. The study focuses on the population of a defined geographical area within South London, overlying Lambeth and Southwark local authorities.

  To ensure our results are reliable, we aim to identify all people who have had a stroke who live in our area. This is done by rigorous monitoring at places they are likely to attend for care. We screen records of the major hospital stroke units within and bordering our area; the records of CT and MRI brain scans; and relevant outpatient clinic lists. People who are eligible are invited to participate; there is no change to care for people participating.

  The fieldwork team comprises doctors, research nurses and other trained researchers. Participants are interviewed within 48 hours (if practical and comfortable for the participant), 3 months after their stroke, annually for 5 years, then at 10 and 15 years after the stroke. These interviews collect data on physical, cognitive and mental health alongside stroke symptoms and care. Information about the stroke type, hospital care and relevant test results is collected from the health record. The first interview usually takes place in hospital, subsequent interviews at a convenient place for participants (either via face-to-face or telephone), usually their home or care home.

  With modern care, more people survive stroke than ever before; but we don’t have a good understanding of the needs of survivors in the years following their stroke. MRI brain scans are now very widely available, meaning that mild stroke can be more easily detected than was previously possible. The impact of changes such as these are not well understood. The SLSR remains important in future to monitor these changes in stroke and its diagnosis and care over time.

• REC name

  Wales REC 1

• REC reference

  22/WA/0027

• Date of REC Opinion

  9 Feb 2022

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion