ABSTRACT
Introducción: La pandemia COVID-19 ha tenido un impacto en el manejo del ictus isquémico, se ha descrito una disminución de los ingresos hospitalarios e incluso una interrupción en la cadena de atención y aumento de la mortalidad intrahospitalaria. Sin embargo, falta evidencia sobre su impacto en el pronóstico funcional. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar el efecto de la pandemia COVID-19 en el pronóstico funcional a tres meses de los pacientes con ictus isquémico agudo hospitalizados en Aragón. Material y Métodos: Revisamos los datos de todos los pacientes ingresados por ictus isquémico en todos los hospitales de nuestro sistema sanitario entre el 30 de diciembre de 2019 y el 3 de mayo de 2020. Comparamos su mRS y mortalidad a tres meses de los hospitalizados antes y después de haberse establecido el estado de emergencia secundario a la pandemia COVID-19. Resultados: En total, 318 pacientes con ictus isquémico agudo cumplieron nuestros criterios de inclusión. No hubo diferencias en las características globales y específicas de cada período, excepto por una mayor proporción de pacientes mayores de 80 años de edad durante el período pre-CoV (42,2% vs 29,0%, p = 0,028). En el análisis comparativo, no encontramos una diferencia significativa en la mortalidad (12,3 vs.7,9, p = 0,465) o la proporción de pacientes con mRS ≤2 (57,7% vs 57,1%, p = 0,425) a los tres meses. Conclusión: Hasta donde sabemos, este es el primer estudio que analiza el impacto de la pandemia de COVID-19 en el pronóstico funcional a tres meses de pacientes con ictus isquémico. En nuestra Comunidad Autónoma, no ha habido un incremento en la mortalidad o discapacidad a tres meses de pacientes hospitalizados por ictus isquémico durante el período COVID-19. Introduction: 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). Methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusion: 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.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Spain has been one of the countries heavily stricken by COVID-19. But this epidemic has not affected all regions equally. We analyzed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital stroke admissions and in-hospital mortality in tertiary referral hospitals from North-West Spain. METHODS: Spanish multicenter retrospective observational study based on data from tertiary hospitals of the NORDICTUS network. We recorded the number of patients admitted for ischemic stroke between 30 December 2019 and 3 May 2020, the number of IVT and EVT procedures, and in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: In the study period, 2737 patients were admitted with ischemic stroke. There was a decrease in the weekly mean admitted patients during the pandemic (124 vs. 173, p<0.001). In-hospital mortality of stroke patients increased significantly (9.9% vs. 6.5%, p = 0.003), but there were no differences in the proportion of IVT (17.3% vs. 16.1%, p = 0.405) or EVT (22% vs. 23%, p = 0.504). CONCLUSION: We found a decrease in the number of ischemic stroke admissions and an increase in in-hospital mortality during the COVID-19 epidemic in this large study from North-West Spain. There were regional changes within the network, not fully explained by the severity of the pandemic in different regions.