Stroke admission rates before, during and after the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Neurol Sci
; 42(3): 791-798, 2021 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33428057
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
There was a significant decrease in stroke admissions during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are concerns that stroke patients have not sought medical attention and in the months after the lockdown suffer recurrent severe strokes. The aims of this study were to investigate how stroke admission rates and distributions of severity varied before, during and after the lockdown in a representative Norwegian hospital population.METHODS:
All patients discharged from Akershus University Hospital with a diagnosis of transient ischemic attack (TIA) or acute stroke from January to September 2020 were identified by hospital chart review.RESULTS:
We observed a transient decrease in weekly stroke admissions during lockdown from an average of 21.4 (SD 4.7) before to 15.0 (SD 4.2) during and 17.2 (SD 3.3) after (p < 0.011). The proportion of mild ischemic and haemorrhagic strokes was also lower during lockdown with 66% before, 57% during and 68% after (p = 0.011).CONCLUSION:
The period of COVID-19 lockdown was associated with a temporary reduction in total admissions of strokes. In particular, there were fewer with TIA and mild stroke. Given the need to prevent the worsening of symptoms and risk of recurrence, it is necessary to emphasise the importance to seek medical care even in states of emergency.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Acidente Vascular Cerebral
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COVID-19
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Hospitalização
Limite:
Aged
/
Aged80
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Female
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Humans
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Male
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Neurol Sci
Assunto da revista:
NEUROLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Noruega