Title : Comparison of stroke properties between hospitalized patients with and without COVID-19 suffering cerebrovascular events
Abstract:
Introduction: SARS-Cov2 virus, the cause of the Covid-19 pandemic, can affect the nervous system. Due to the importance of acute stroke as the second cause of death and the third cause of disability, it is necessary to investigate different aspects of interactions between covid-19 and acute stroke. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in clinical, imaging, laboratory parameters, risk factors, morbidity and mortality of acute stroke during the corona pandemic.
Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, population included 379 patients admitted to Zanjan Vali-e-Asr Hospital in the first six months of 2020 (from 20 March to 21 September) with acute stroke (98 patients with covid-19 and 281 without covid-19). All data was extracted from the SITS database and hospital HIS system. Descriptive statistics report and statistical analysis were done via SPSS software version 26.
Results: The percentage of people over 50 years old was higher in the group with covid-19 than the group without covid-19 (P-value=0.0005). Also, past history of hypertension in stroke patients with covid-19 were more than non-covid patients. According to the NIHSS criteria, the severity of acute stroke in the covid group was higher (P-value=0.000). No significant relationship was detected between the imaging criteria and the status of covid-19 infection, despite brain edema that was higher in covid patients (p-0.003). Finally, mortality in acute stroke patients with covid was higher than non-covid group (P-value=0.000).The most common cause of death in the covid-19 group was cerebral infarct and in the group not infected with covid-19 was intracranial hemorrhage.
Conclusion: This study suggests that the covid-19 pandemic has changed the pattern of involvement, clinical course and paraclinical findings of acute cerebrovascular events. It is recommended to consider the interactions of covid-19 and acute stroke for more appropriate management and treatment protocols.
Keywords: Covid 19, ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA)
