Background: Stroke is the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of disability worldwide. Stroke nurses play an important role in the care of patients living with stroke by using best practices and adhering to stroke-management guidelines. This study aims at examining the current nursing practice for stroke patients in Saudi Arabia. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to collect data from nurses working in the stroke unit and intensive care unit between the period of February and June 2022 using electronic self-administered questionnaires. Results: A convenience sample of 131 nurses who provided care for stroke patients was enrolled. Significant differences in nursing practice were found between the stroke units and the intensive care units regarding the activation of the stroke code, X² (4, N = 131) = 48.34, p < 0.001; transferring stroke patients to a designated bed, X² (4, N = 131) = 48.74, p = 0.002; applying the NIHSS, X² (4, N = 131) = 70.11, p < 0.001; using the modified Rankin scale, X² (4, N = 131) = 61.24, p < 0.001; providing intervention for neglect syndrome, X² (4, N = 131) = 44.72, and hemianopsia, X² (4, N = 131) = 39.22; screening for poststroke depression, X² (4, N = 131) = 101.59, p < 0.001; assessing for psychosocial needs, X² (4, N = 131) = 74.44, p < 0.001, and encouraging patients to express their feelings, X² (4, N = 131) = 58.64, p < 0.001; educating patients and families about stroke prevention, X² (4, N = 131) = 40.51, p < 0.001. Conclusion: As per the results of the study, there is an urgent need for stroke units run by specialized stroke nurses to provide early stroke management and improve survivors’ outcomes. Structured stroke-care programs are needed to improve nursing practice and meet the international standard of stroke care.

This study employed a cross-sectional design to explore the impact of social support and self-efficacy on activity of daily living (ADL) among post-stroke patients in Saudi Arabia and investigate the mediating role of self-efficacy. Data were collected from 158 post-stroke patients across six healthcare facilities in three regions of Saudi Arabia using convenience sampling, between February 2023 and July 2023. The analysis included descriptive statistics, variance analysis, and linear regression using bootstrap methods. PROCESS Macro was used for the mediation model. This study revealed that most participants had high ADL, social support, and self-efficacy levels. Significant negative associations were found between ADL and age (p < 0.001), time since stroke (p = 0.009), and stroke history (p < 0.001), while significant positive associations were observed with educational background (p = 0.049), employment status (p < 0.001), and self-efficacy (p < 0.001). ADL in post-stroke patients was significantly influenced negatively by age (p = 0.025), time since stroke (p = 0.027), and stroke history (p < 0.001), while self-efficacy (p < 0.001) had a positive impact and moderated the relationship between social support and ADL. This study highlights the physical and psychosocial aspects affecting post-stroke patients, identifies key areas for enhancing their experiences, and informs the development of targeted interventions to address their comprehensive needs.

Introduction: Stroke is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Absolute stroke numbers are increasing significantly in developing countries, such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). There are approximately 24,000 strokes in Saudi Arabia annually. Epidemiological model predicted an increase of 67% in the UPCOM. Method(s): A retrospective cohort of patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with MT at King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, from January 2015 to October 2022. Continuous variables are expressed as means (standard deviation [SD]), medians (interquartile range [IQR]), and categorical variables as percentages. Result(s): During the study period, 343 acute ischemic stroke patients (mean ± SD age 61 ± 15.2 years; 55.4% male) were treated acutely with mechanical thrombectomy. The demographics and clinical features of the entire sample are summarized in Table 1. Mechanical thrombectomy cases increased. Conclusion(s): The number of MT-treated patients increased over the last years with a marked increase in 2022 secondary to emergency medical service pathway activation. Our results are in accordance with a previous study. Article published online: 09 February 2023 © 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd. A-12, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Noida-201301 UP, India