ABSTRACT
Introduction: As a result of the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Society for Neurointerventional Surgery (SNIS) issued guidelines for patient management during COVID-19. Specifically, they suggested intubating COVID-19 positive or those with unknown COVID-19 status prior to emergent endovascular thrombectomy, cohorting by COVID-19 status, early ICU discharge, and postponing elective cases. We sought to determine how the implementation of SNIS guidelines affected outcomes for patients with ischemic stroke. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study comparing ischemic stroke patients who were treated with thrombectomy admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic 4/1/20-6/30/20 “COVID-19 peak” to patients admitted 4/1/19-6/30/19 “2019”. Statistical tests used for analysis included Kruskal- Wallis, chi-squared and Fisher's exact test. Results: The proportion of patients treated with thrombectomy was not significantly different, 23% in 2019 vs. 24% during the COVID-19 peak, p=0.67. There were 112 patients treated with thrombectomy: 57 (51%) in 2019, 55 (49%) during the COVID-19 peak. No patients treated with thrombectomy were positive for COVID-19, but 27 (49%) were tested. The median age was 69 for those treated in 2019 and 69 for those during the COVID-19 peak, p=0.44. Patients were similar in sex, race, and comorbidities. The time from onset to arrival was also statistically similar, p=0.19. In 2019, 16% received tPA compared to 9% during the COVID-19 peak, p=0.28. The median time to groin puncture was significantly shorter in 2019, 38 minutes, than during the COVID-19 peak, 44 minutes, p=0.01. The recanalization rate and mRS were similar between groups, p=0.06, and p=0.91, respectively. Conclusions: After implementing the SNIS guidelines, including pre-treatment intubation, we observed a significantly longer time to groin puncture. Anecdotally, the increased observed was remarkably small given the changes to care and did not negatively impact patient outcomes. This suggests that hospitals managing patients efficiently can implement changes in response to COVID- 19 and continue high level of care without impacting outcomes. Therefore, we recommend following the SNIS guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.