Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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No studies have reported the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic on patients with preexisting stroke. We aim to study the clinical course of COVID-19 patients with preexisting stroke and to investigate death-related risk factors. ⋯ Preexisting stroke patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 were readily predisposed to death, providing an important message to individuals and health care workers that preventive measures must be implemented to protect and reduce transmission in stroke patients in this COVID-19 crisis.
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Anecdotal reports suggest fewer patients with stroke symptoms are presenting to hospitals during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We quantify trends in stroke code calls and treatments at 3 Connecticut hospitals during the local emergence of COVID-19 and examine patient characteristics and stroke process measures at a Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC) before and during the pandemic. ⋯ Hospital presentation for stroke-like symptoms decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, without differences in stroke severity or early outcomes. Individuals living outside of the CSC city were less likely to present for stroke codes at the CSC during the pandemic. Public health initiatives to increase awareness of presenting for non-COVID-19 medical emergencies such as stroke during the pandemic are critical.
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Recent case-series of small size implied a pathophysiological association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and severe large-vessel acute ischemic stroke. Given that severe strokes are typically associated with poor prognosis and can be very efficiently treated with recanalization techniques, confirmation of this putative association is urgently warranted in a large representative patient cohort to alert stroke clinicians, and inform pre- and in-hospital acute stroke patient pathways. We pooled all consecutive patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and acute ischemic stroke in 28 sites from 16 countries. ⋯ Among 96 survivors with available information about disability status, 49 (51%) had severe disability at discharge. In the propensity score-matched population (n=330), patients with COVID-19 had higher risk for severe disability (median mRS 4 [IQR, 2-6] versus 2 [IQR, 1-4], P<0.001) and death (odds ratio, 4.3 [95% CI, 2.22-8.30]) compared with patients without COVID-19. Our findings suggest that COVID-19 associated ischemic strokes are more severe with worse functional outcome and higher mortality than non-COVID-19 ischemic strokes.
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Observational Study
Emergent Large Vessel Occlusion Stroke During New York City's COVID-19 Outbreak: Clinical Characteristics and Paraclinical Findings.
The 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak and its associated disease (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) have created a worldwide pandemic. Early data suggest higher rate of ischemic stroke in severe COVID-19 infection. We evaluated whether a relationship exists between emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO) and the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. ⋯ More than half of the ELVO stroke patients during the peak time of the New York City's COVID-19 outbreak were COVID-19 positive, and those patients with COVID-19 were younger, more likely to be male, and less likely to be White. Our findings also suggest an increase in the incidence of ELVO stroke during the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak.