Objectives: Knowledge of resource use and costs can be useful when evaluating existing services or planning new services. This study investigates the use of health care and social services during the first year after a stroke. Total costs are calculated, costs are compared across subgroups of patients, and resource items of major importance for the total costs are identified.

Methods: The study is based on a database comprising data on all stroke patients admitted to a university hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, over a 1-year period, 1994–95. Patients were followed for 1 year after the stroke, and data on resource use during and after hospitalization were collected prospectively at interviews. This paper focuses on a subset of 385 patients who were admitted because of cerebral infarct or unspecified stroke.

Results: The mean cost, based on all patients, of health care and social services during the first year was 142,900 DKK (US $25,500). The hospital care until the first discharge, including acute care and rehabilitation, cost 101,600 Danish krones (DKK) (US $18,100), i.e., 71% of the total cost. Major resource items after discharge were nursing homes, readmissions, outpatient rehabilitation, and home help. The cost during the first year varied with a number of factors, with the most important being survival and degree of disability. Patients who survived the acute phase and who had severe disability (Barthel Activities of Daily Living [ADL] Index: 0–9) 7–10 days after admission had a total cost during the first year that was five times as high as patients with no disability (Barthel ADL Index: 20).

Conclusion: Costs of health care and social services during the first year after a stroke vary considerably. Disability as measured with the Barthel ADL Index is a stronger predictor of costs than Scandinavian Stroke Scale scores and other clinical and demographic variables.