COVID-19: Stroke Admissions, Emergency Department Visits, and Prevention Clinic Referrals.

COVID-19: Stroke Admissions, Emergency Department Visits, and Prevention Clinic Referrals. Can J Neurol Sci. 2020 May 26;:1-10 Authors: Bres Bullrich M, Fridman S, Mandzia JL, Mai LM, Khaw A, Vargas Gonzalez JC, Bagur R, Sposato LA Abstract We assessed the impact of the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic on code stroke activations in the ED, stroke unit admissions, and referrals to the stroke prevention clinic at London's regional stroke center, serving a population of 1.8 million in Ontario, Canada. We found a 20% drop in the number of code strokes in 2020 compared to 2019, immediately after the first cases of COVID-19 were officially confirmed. There were no changes in the number of stroke admissions and there was a 22% decrease in the number of clinic referrals, only after the provincial lockdown. Our findings suggest that the decrease in code strokes was mainly driven by patient-related factors such as fear to be exposed to the SARS-CoV-2, while the reduction in clinic referrals was largely explained by hospital policies and the Government lockdown. PMID: 32450927 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: The Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Can J Neurol Sci Source Type: research