MADRID, 26 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Although there has been an increase in stroke-related diseases reported alongside COVID-19, a new study reveals that worldwide there was a global decrease in the volume of hospitalizations for stroke, the administration of anticoagulant drugs (intravenous thrombolysis / IVT) and IVT transfers between primary centers and comprehensive stroke centers. Additionally, medical centers with higher volumes of hospitalization for COVID-19 experienced steeper declines.
“Although recovery from stroke hospitalization was seen in the final months of the pandemic, our analysis of more than 254,000 stroke hospitalizations worldwide found an 11.5 percent decrease in stroke admissions, a decrease of 13.2 percent in intravenous thrombolysis and a decrease of 11. 9 percent fewer intravenous transfers during the first four months of the pandemic, compared to the immediately preceding period, “explains co-author Thanh N. Nguyen, professor of neurology, neurosurgery, and radiology at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), and director of the Neurointerventions Service at Boston Medical Center in the United States.
The researchers, who publish their work in the journal ‘Neurology’, carried out a cross-sectional, observational and retrospective study in six continents, 70 countries and 457 stroke centers. They found that there were 91,373 stroke admissions in the immediately preceding four months, compared to 80,894 admissions during the months of the pandemic.
There were 13,334 IVT therapies in the previous four months, compared with 11,570 procedures during the pandemic. IVT transfers between centers were reduced from 1,337 to 1,178.
“These reductions were seen regardless of COVID-19 hospitalization burden, pre-pandemic stroke, and IVT volumes,” added lead author Raúl Nogueira, Professor of Neurology at Emory University School of Medicine and Director of Interventional Neurology / Neuroradiology at Grady.
The researchers also found recovery in stroke hospitalization volume (an increase of 9.5%) in the two months after the pandemic in the first two months, with greater recovery in hospitals with the lowest volume of hospitalization for COVID -19, in high-volume stroke centers and comprehensive stroke centers.
These results were similar to other recent reports on the side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on stroke care systems, including studies from China, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Brazil, Canada, and the United States.
The researchers learned that, as of 2020, many countries in Africa still do not have the capacity to administer intravenous thrombolysis as part of their routine stroke care. The authors highlight this disparity in global stroke care, given data in favor of intravenous therapy from NINDs studies over 20 years ago.
The researchers hope that the findings of this study can inform future studies, preparedness and local policies in the event of a second wave of COVID-19 or a future pandemic.
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