ABSTRACT
Cerebral microbleeds (CMB) emerged as a possible complication of COVID-19. We aimed to assess CMB presence, distribution, and potential underlying pathophysiological mechanisms in hospitalised COVID-19 patients. In a cohort of 112 COVID-19 patients with neurological symptoms admitted to the Geneva University Hospital between March 2020 and May 2021, we assessed CMB distribution, and associations with clinical/ radiological variables. Neuroimaging was performed on a 1.5 T MRI with susceptibility-weighted images, 3D time-of-flight angiography, and 3D-contrast-enhanced fat-saturated T1 black blood VISTA sequences. Two neurologists rated CMB using the Microbleed Anatomic Rating Scale and white matter hyperintensities using the Age-Related White Matter Changes score. 53 patients (47.0%) had CMB;in 45.3% of cases, CMB were found in lobar regions with a predilection for temporal (58.3%) and frontal (29.2%) lobes. Deep CMB were present in 18.9%, with corpus callosum CMB found in 15.0%, in 35.9% CMB distribution was mixed. CMB presence was not related to intubation, pulmonary involvement, nor to radiologic signs of endothelitis. Patients with CMB were more likely to have a higher burden of white matter hyperintensities (OR 1.13, p=0.005, 95% CI: 1.03- 1.24), to have hypertension as a comorbidity (OR= 2.34, p= 0.04, 95% CI: 1.04 - 5.30) and to suffer from an acute stroke during hospitalisation (OR: 3.50 p= 0.012, 95% CI:1.31-9.18). In our sample, COVID-19 patients with neurological symptoms had a high burden of CMB. Their distribution suggests that they may be related to cardiovascular risk factors and cerebral amyloid angiopathy. CMB were also associated with an increased risk of acute stroke.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Patterns of hospital presentation have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In stroke, delayed or avoided care may translate to substantial morbidity. We sought to determine the effect of the pandemic on patterns of stroke patient presentation and quality of care. Methods: We analyzed data from 25 New England hospitals: one urban, academic comprehensive stroke center (CSC) and telestroke hub, and 24 spoke hospitals in the telestroke network. We included all telestroke consultations from the 24 spokes and stroke admissions to the CSC from 11/1/2019 through 4/30/2020. We examined trends in stroke presentation including large vessel occlusion (LVO), alteplase use, and endovascular thrombectomy among eligible subjects. We compared proportions and bivariate comparisons to examine for changes pre- vs. post-3/1/2020, and used linear regression to examine trends over time. Results: Among 1248 patient presentations, telestroke consultations (0.4 fewer consults per week, p=0.005) and ischemic stroke patient admissions (decrease of 0.2 patients per week, p=0.04) decreased among the spokes and hub. Age and stroke severity were unchanged over the study period. We found no change in alteplase administration at telestroke spoke hospitals, but did note a decrease in both alteplase use (1.5 per week prior to March 1 and 1 per week after, p=0.05) and thrombectomy at our CSC (0.1 fewer cases per week, p=0.02). Time metrics for patient presentation and care delivery were unchanged, however, rates of adherence for several quality measures were reduced during the pandemic (Table 1). Conclusions: In this regional analysis, we found decreasing telestroke consultations and ischemic stroke admissions, and reduced performance on stroke quality of care measures during the COVID 19 pandemic. Contrary to prior reports, we did not find an increase in thrombectomy nor decrease in clinical severity that might be expected if patients with milder symptoms avoided hospitalization.(Figure Presented).