• Maria Bres Bullrich, Sebastian Fridman, Jennifer L Mandzia, Lauren M Mai, Alexander Khaw, Juan Camilo Vargas Gonzalez, Rodrigo Bagur, and Luciano A Sposato.
• Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
• Can J Neurol Sci. 2020 Sep 1; 47 (5): 693-696.

AbstractWe assessed the impact of the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic on code stroke activations in the emergency department, stroke unit admissions, and referrals to the stroke prevention clinic at London's regional stroke center, serving a population of 1.8 million in Ontario, Canada. We found a 20% drop in the number of code strokes in 2020 compared to 2019, immediately after the first cases of COVID-19 were officially confirmed. There were no changes in the number of stroke admissions and there was a 22% decrease in the number of clinic referrals, only after the provincial lockdown. Our findings suggest that the decrease in code strokes was mainly driven by patient-related factors such as fear to be exposed to the SARS-CoV-2, while the reduction in clinic referrals was largely explained by hospital policies and the Government lockdown.

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