Increased carotid intima-media thickness is associated with higher odds of unfavorable outcomes in adults without advanced vascular diseases presenting with non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia: a nested case-control study.

AIM: To evaluate the association between carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) at hospital admission and unfavorable outcomes in adults without advanced vascular diseases presenting with non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia to assess the feasibility of evaluating CIMT as a risk stratification aid in this setting. METHODS: This proof-of-concept nested case-control study enrolled consecutive non-vaccinated adults free of advanced vascular diseases presenting with verified non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia between December 2020 and June 2021. CIMT was measured at admission, and patients were managed in line with the national Ministry of Health guidelines. Those who died or required mechanical ventilation (MV) during the index hospital stay were considered cases and were matched (entropy balancing, exact matching) on a set of covariates to survivors not requiring MV (controls). Frequentist and Bayesian logistic models were fitted to the case status. RESULTS: The study enrolled 207 patients: 27 (13%) cases and 180 controls. All were retained in the analysis after entropy balancing, while 27 cases were exactly matched to 99 controls. Higher CIMT at the proximal internal carotid artery (both left and right) was consistently associated with higher odds of being a case: all odds ratio point-estimates were ≥1.50 with lower limits of the 99% confidence intervals/credibility intervals ≥1.00 with two-sided probabilities of OR>1.00 greater than 99.5%. The susceptibility of the estimates to unmeasured confounding was low. CONCLUSION: This study supports the feasibility of CIMT as a risk stratification aid in adults free of advanced vascular disease presenting with non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after Stroke: A Systematic Review.

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common and debilitating illness that accompanies many neurological disorders, including stroke. Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to identify and critically appraise all published studies that have reported the frequency, severity, and time course of PTSD after stroke, the factors associated with its development, and its impact on patients' lives. Material and Methods: The PubMed EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Ovid Nursing databases were searched for studies published in English that had recruited at least 10 patients (>18 years old) after stroke and who were also diagnosed with PTSD. Results: Twenty studies covering a total of 1785 patients met the study inclusion criteria. The frequency of PTSD ranged from 3% to 31%, with a weighted proportion of 16.5%. PTSD runs a chronic course. PTSD after stroke was associated with premorbid neuroticism, negative affect, and maladaptive coping styles. Comorbid depression and anxiety also increased the risk of PTSD. Psychological factors such as negative appraisal and perceived high risk of recurrence and distress were associated with PTSD. Good social support reduced the risk of PTSD. PTSD reduced patients' quality of life, physical functioning, and medication compliance. Conclusions: PTSD is common after stroke. Further research is needed to clarify its time course and identify the neurochemical factors and brain circuits associated with the development of post-stroke PTSD. Randomized controlled treatment trials targeting PTSD in stroke are warranted.

Croatian study on COVID-19-positive stroke patients during the second wave of the pandemic.

AIM: To investigate stroke characteristics in patients with concomitant coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in Croatia during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This retrospective study investigated the characteristics of two groups of ischemic stroke patients: those who developed COVID-19 infection before stroke and those who developed the infection during the hospital stay after stroke onset. Stroke etiology was classified according to the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) classification. RESULTS: We analyzed data from 255 stroke patients from 12 Croatian hospitals. The two groups of ischemic stroke patients differed in stroke etiology (P=0.038). Patients with COVID-19 infection before stroke had fewer cardioembolic strokes (46% vs 29.1%), more cryptogenic strokes (32.5% vs 14.3%), and more strokes in multiple vascular territories (12.4% vs 1.8%). The percentage of large-vessel occlusions was high in both groups (49.6% and 44.4%). Median modified Rankin Scale score on discharge was 4 in both groups. Mortality was 36.4% in the group with stroke after COVID-19 and 33.3% in the group with COVID-19 after stroke. CONCLUSION: Ischemic stroke after COVID-19 differs in etiology from ischemic stroke complicated by COVID-19 infection. Both patient groups are characterized by severe disability and high mortality. Raising the awareness of prehospital stroke and optimization of clinical workflow are important if we want to improve the stroke outcomes by acute recanalization techniques.

What the Aftermath of the Global Pandemic Will Mean for Neurologists.

The emergence of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has had a widespread public health impact, thus causing a significant socioeconomic burden [...].

Public Interest in Neurological Diseases on Wikipedia during Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic.

Infodemiology is a research discipline that investigates parameters of information distribution in order to support public health and public policy. Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia, is commonly used as a source of information for infodemiological studies. Using Pageviews analysis, we descriptively assessed the total monthly number of views of the Wikipedia articles in English describing main neurological diseases in the period from January 2018 to July 2020. Our results show a general trend of a decrease in interest in neurological disease-related pages throughout years and especially during the burst of interest towards coronavirus. The monitoring of infodemiological indicators shall be prioritized to reshape global campaigns and tailored advocacy programs.

Prevalence and correlates of post-traumatic stress disorder after ischaemic stroke.

Although most often considered a consequence of traumatic event, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) also occurs after illness. The aim of this study was to establish prevalence of PTSD in patients with ischaemic stroke (IS) and its correlation to lesion location, degree of disability, age, gender and marital status. The study included 85 patients with IS. PTSD was diagnosed using a modified version of the PTSD Checklist Specific for a stressor (PCL-S). Depression and anxiety were assessed using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). We defined stroke localisation as right cerebral hemisphere, left cerebral hemisphere, brainstem and cerebellum. Stroke severity was measured using the modified Rankin scale (mRS). Demographic information including age, gender and marital status was collected from medical history. Of the 85 patients with IS, 11 (12.9%) fulfilled PCL-S criteria for PTSD. We found a positive correlation between PTSD and higher degree of disability, P < 0.001. Patients with PTSD had lesions more frequently localised in the right cerebral hemisphere and the brainstem. We found no statistically significant correlation of PTSD with age, gender and marital status. Our results show that a significant number of IS patients develop PTSD after IS. Determining correlates of post-stroke PTSD can help to identify those at higher risk for its development. If proven by additional large sample studies, more patients can benefit from screening for the PTSD symptoms.

Outlining Stroke Infodemiology.

e-Health is becoming increasingly relevant in stroke awareness campaigns and clinical management. In our statement, we focus on a basic strategy to trace the global information flow generated on the internet about stroke, and how to better understand the interest surrounding stroke in the community as well as the effects of warning campaigns.