Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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We aimed to investigate the rate of hospital admissions for cerebrovascular events and of revascularization treatments for acute ischemic stroke in Italy during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. ⋯ Hospitalizations for stroke or transient ischemic attacks across Italy were reduced during the worst period of the COVID-19 outbreak. Intravenous thrombolytic treatments also decreased, while endovascular treatments remained unchanged and even increased in the area of maximum expression of the outbreak. Limited hospitalization of the less severe patients and delays in hospital admission, due to overcharge of the emergency system by COVID-19 patients, may explain these data.