Three-month functional prognosis of patients hospitalised due to acute ischaemic stroke in Aragon: Rregional analysis of the impact of COVID-19

• Published in: Neurologia (Barcelona, Spain)
• Main Authors: Tejada Meza, H, Lambea Gil, Á, Villar Yus, C, Pérez Lázaro, C, Navarro Pérez, M P, Campello Morer, I, Giménez Muñoz, Á, Artal Roy, J, Alberti González, O, Hernando Quintana, N, Ruiz Palomino, P, Crespo Burillo, J A, García Arguedas, C, Ballester Marco, L, Palacin Larroy, M, Seral Moral, M, Marta Moreno, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Spain 23.02.2021
• Subjects: COVID-19; Cerebral infarction; Pronóstico; Infarto cerebral; España; Ictus isquémico; Ischaemic stroke; Outcomes; Spain
• ISSN: 1578-1968

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on ischaemic stroke management, with a reported decrease in hospital admissions, and even disruptions in healthcare and increased in-hospital mortality. However, there is a lack of evidence on the impact of the pandemic on functional prognosis. The aim of this study is to analyse the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 3-month functional outcomes of patients hospitalised due to acute ischaemic stroke in Aragon (Spain). We reviewed the data of all patients admitted due to ischaemic stroke to any hospital in our regional healthcare system between 30 December 2019 and 3 May 2020. We compared modified Rankin Scale scores and mortality at 3 months in patients hospitalised before and after the declaration of a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, 318 patients with acute ischaemic stroke met our inclusion criteria. No differences were observed between periods in global or specific characteristics, with the exception of a higher proportion of patients older than 80 years during the first period (42.2% vs. 29.0%, P=.028). In the comparative analysis, we found no significant differences in mortality (12.3 vs. 7.9, P=.465) or in the proportion of patients with modified Rankin Scale scores ≤ 2 (57.7% vs. 57.1%, P=.425) at 3 months. To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyse the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the 3-month functional outcomes of patients with ischaemic stroke. In our region, there has been no increase in rates of mortality or disability at 3 months in patients admitted due to ischaemic stroke during the pandemic.