Intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke during two COVID-19 outbreaks in China: Wuhan pandemic and Beijing pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the emergency department (ED). Door-to-needle time (DNT) could be prolonged for intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) treatment. We aimed to investigate the impact of two COVID-19 pandemics on the workflow of IVT in our neurovascular ED. METHOD: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients who received IVT treatment in the neurovascular ED of Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Beijing, from January 20, 2020, to October 30, 2020, covering two COVID-19 pandemics in China. The time-based performances of IVT treatment including onset-to-arrival time, arrival-to-CT time, CT-to-needle time, door-to-needle time, and onset-to-needle time were recorded. Data on clinical characteristics and imaging information were also collected. RESULTS: Four hundred forty patients that received IVT were enrolled in this study. The number of patients admitted to our neurovascular ED began to decrease in December 2019 and was the lowest in April 2020 (n = 95). Longer DNT (Wuhan pandemic: 49.00 [35.00, 64.00] min; Beijing pandemic: 55.00 [45.50, 77.00] min) interval delays were observed during the two pandemics (p = .016). More patients admitted during the two pandemics had an 'unknown' subtype (Wuhan pandemic: 21.8%; Beijing pandemic: 31.4%. p = .008). The percentage of the cardiac embolism subtype was higher during the Wuhan pandemic (20.0%) than during other periods. The median admission NIHSS score increased during the Wuhan pandemic and the Beijing pandemic (8.00 [4.00, 12.00], 7.00 [4.50, 14.00], respectively, p < .001). CONCLUSION: The number of patients who received IVT decreased during the Wuhan pandemic. Higher admission NIHSS scores and prolonged DNT intervals were also observed during the Wuhan pandemic and the Beijing pandemic.

Trial of Endovascular Therapy for Acute Ischemic Stroke with Large Infarct.

BACKGROUND: The role of endovascular therapy for acute stroke with a large infarction has not been extensively studied in differing populations. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, prospective, open-label, randomized trial in China involving patients with acute large-vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation and an Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score of 3 to 5 (range, 0 to 10, with lower values indicating larger infarction) or an infarct-core volume of 70 to 100 ml. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio within 24 hours from the time they were last known to be well to undergo endovascular therapy and receive medical management or to receive medical management alone. The primary outcome was the score on the modified Rankin scale at 90 days (scores range from 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater disability), and the primary objective was to determine whether a shift in the distribution of the scores on the modified Rankin scale at 90 days had occurred between the two groups. Secondary outcomes included scores of 0 to 2 and 0 to 3 on the modified Rankin scale. The primary safety outcome was symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage within 48 hours after randomization. RESULTS: A total of 456 patients were enrolled; 231 were assigned to the endovascular-therapy group and 225 to the medical-management group. Approximately 28% of the patients in both groups received intravenous thrombolysis. The trial was stopped early owing to the efficacy of endovascular therapy after the second interim analysis. At 90 days, a shift in the distribution of scores on the modified Rankin scale toward better outcomes was observed in favor of endovascular therapy over medical management alone (generalized odds ratio, 1.37; 95% confidence interval, 1.11 to 1.69; P = 0.004). Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage occurred in 14 of 230 patients (6.1%) in the endovascular-therapy group and in 6 of 225 patients (2.7%) in the medical-management group; any intracranial hemorrhage occurred in 113 (49.1%) and 39 (17.3%), respectively. Results for the secondary outcomes generally supported those of the primary analysis. CONCLUSIONS: In a trial conducted in China, patients with large cerebral infarctions had better outcomes with endovascular therapy administered within 24 hours than with medical management alone but had more intracranial hemorrhages. (Funded by Covidien Healthcare International Trading [Shanghai] and others; ANGEL-ASPECT ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04551664.).