The Erlanger Stroke Registry (ESPro) is the Only Ongoing Prospective Population-based Stroke Registry in Germany, Started in 1994. ESPro Includes All Hospitalized and Non-hospitalized Patients With Stroke in the Community of Erlangen (120.000 Inhabitants), With a Long-life Follow-up.

NCT07771335 | Recruiting DMC

• 3 other identifiers: 249_15 BcZMV I 1-2520KEU305DRKS00040516
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 17,000
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 3

Brief Summary

Stroke is a disease that primarily affects older adults and, with an estimated 64,000 deaths in 2024, is one of the leading causes of death in Germany. Estimates of its prevalence and the burden of disease within the German population are therefore essential for calculating future healthcare needs and guide health policy planning. When the first stroke units (SU) began to emerge in Germany in 1994, health insurers raised the question of the total number of stroke patients requiring care. Unfortunately, at that time there were no reliable figures available to determine the nationwide need for stroke units. This marked the birth of the Erlangen Stroke Registry (ESPro). For 32 years (1994-2026), ESPro has been continuously collecting data on the epidemiology, clinical course, and care of stroke and dementia, two of the most common diseases. The ESPro is designed as a regional, population-based registry that includes, as far as possible, all diagnosed strokes-that is, both hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients-regardless of age group or severity of the condition. Patients enrolled in the city of Erlangen undergo close monitoring of their clinical course and are followed up at intervals of 3 and 12 months, and then annually for the rest of their lives. This long-term follow-up enables comprehensive health services research on stroke, a widespread disease. Direct information on the course of the disease, its treatment, and care can be gleaned from registry data and incorporated into preventive medicine, treatment, and care planning.

Conditions

Cerebral Infarction Due to Thrombosis of Cerebral Arteries; Intracerebral Haemorrhage (ICH); Cerebral Infarction; Cerebral Infarction Due to Embolism of Cerebral Arteries; Stroke, Not Specified as Haemorrhage or Infarction; Transient Cerebral Ischaemic Attacks and Related Syndromes; Vascular Dementia (VaD); Multi-infarct Dementia; Cerebral Vein Thrombosis

Keywords

Stroke; Erlangen; Germany; Registry

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (36)

• Name

  Baseline

• Address

  Baseline

• Postal code

  Baseline

• Telephone number

  Baseline

• Gender

  Baseline

• Date of birth

  as date

  Baseline

• Date of death

  as date

  After 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the event occurs. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years-up

• Nationality

  Baseline

• Education

  Baseline

• Employment status

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Marital status

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Number of children

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Name of the health insurance company

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Length of residence in the study area

  Baseline

• Living arrangements

  Which kind of living arrangement (own home environment, assisted living, nursing home) and who are the people, who live in this arrangement (alone, spouse, children, relatives, others)

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Telephone number of the General practitioner

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Assistance

  yes/ no

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Name of the contact person

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Telephone number of the contact person

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Relationship between the patient and the contact person

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS)

  Total Score Range: 0-42 (15 items, each scored on 3-5 point ordinal grades, 0 = normal), higher values indicate greater stroke severity (0 = no stroke symptoms, 1-4 minor, 5-15 moderate, 16-20 moderate-to-severe, 21-42 severe)

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• (Modified) Rankin Scale

  Total Score Range: 0-6 (7-point ordinal disability scale), higher values indicate worse (higher) disability (0 = no symptoms, 1 = no significant disability, 2 = slight disability, 3 = moderate disability, 4 = moderately severe disability, 5 = severe disability, 6 = death)

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)

  Total Score Range: 0-30, higher values indicate better cognitive performance

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Medication

  Name of the drug

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Medication

  Quantity

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Medication

  Dose in milligrams per day

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI)

  Total Score Range: 0-33, higher values indicate a worse (greater) comorbid disease burden

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Hypertension

  yes/ no

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Diabetes mellitus

  yes/ no

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Hypercholesterinemia

  yes/ no

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• TOAST-Classification

  Categorical etiologic classification system; it sorts ischemic stroke into 5 mutually exclusive subtype categories: (1) large-artery atherosclerosis, (2) cardioembolism, (3) small-vessel occlusion (lacunar), (4) stroke of other determined etiology, and (5) stroke of undetermined etiology

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS)

  Total Score Range: Raw sum score: 19-95 (19 items, each rated on the 5-point frequency scale: 1 = none of the time … 5 = all of the time), Transformed index (0-100 scale), higher values indicate better (greater) perceived/available social support

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36)

  Physical health and mental health summary scores, Total Score Range: 0-100, norm-based scoring, higher values indicate a better physical/mental health status

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Barthel Index

  Total Score Range: 0-100, higher values indicate better functional independence (less disability)

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Frenchay Activities Index (FAI)

  Total Score Range: 15-60, higher values indicate better (greater) frequency/independence in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL)

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

• Functional Independence Measure (FIM)

  Total Score Range: 18-126, Subscales: FIM-motor 13-91, FIM-cognitive 5-35, higher values indicate better (greater) functional independence (18 = total dependence, 126 = total independence)

  Baseline, after 3 months, after 12 months, then annually until the end of the study. Currently there is a follow-up of 32 years

Study Arms (1)

People with stroke

All individuals diagnosed with stroke (both hospitalized and non-hospitalized)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The Erlangen Stroke Project (ESPro) is a community-based survey of all cases of stroke occurring in a university town, located in Bavaria in Southeast Germany. Several overlapping sources of information were used to ensure complete case ascertainment: (1) hospital admission and discharge lists and computer-linked records systems; (2) regular checks of all relevant hospital wards and residential and nursing homes; (3) records of ambulance and emergency services; (4) GPs; and (5) death certificates.

You may qualify if:

• All cases of stroke defined according to WHO criteria, as "rapidly developing clinical symptoms and/or signs of focal, and at times global, loss of cerebral function, with symptoms lasting more than 24 hours or leading to death, with no apparent cause other than that of vascular origin occurring in Erlangen, Bavaria
• No restrictions regarding age (provided they are of legal age), socioeconomic circumstance, stroke severity, or prior health status

You may not qualify if:

• Patients with transient episodes lasting less than 24 hours and those with asymptomatic lesions detected by brain imaging ("silent infarcts")

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Erlangen-Nürnberg Medical School: lead

Study Sites (3)

Malteser Waldkrankenhaus St. Marien

Erlangen, 91054, Germany

RECRUITING

Universitätsklinikum Erlangen

Erlangen, 91054, Germany

RECRUITING

Klinikum am Europakanal

Erlangen, 91056, Germany

RECRUITING

Related Links

• Official project website

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Cerebral Hemorrhage; Cerebral Infarction; Stroke; Dementia, Vascular; Dementia, Multi-Infarct; Intracranial Thrombosis

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Intracranial Hemorrhages; Cerebrovascular Disorders; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Hemorrhage; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Brain Infarction; Brain Ischemia; Infarction; Ischemia; Necrosis; Intracranial Arteriosclerosis; Intracranial Arterial Diseases; Dementia; Leukoencephalopathies; Arteriosclerosis; Arterial Occlusive Diseases; Neurocognitive Disorders; Mental Disorders; Intracranial Embolism and Thrombosis; Thromboembolism; Embolism and Thrombosis

Central Study Contacts

Peter L. Kolominsky-Rabas, Univ.-Prof. Dr. med.

CONTACT

+49 9131 85-35855; peter.kolominsky-rabas@fau.de

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Target Duration: 30 Years
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 8, 2026
• First Posted: August 18, 2026
• Study Start: April 1, 1994
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 30, 2094
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 30, 2094
• Last Updated: October 2, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share

Locations

DE (3)