Clinical and laboratory features of patients diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome-2010-2019.

BACKGROUND: Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is an IgE-mediated allergy to galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose. Clinical presentation ranges from hives to anaphylaxis; episodes typically occur 2-6 h after exposure to alpha-gal-containing products. In the United States, lone star tick bites are associated with the development of AGS. To characterize features of AGS, we evaluated a cohort of patients presenting for care at the University of North Carolina, focusing on symptoms, severity, and identifying features unique to specific alpha-gal-containing product exposures. METHODS: We performed a chart review and descriptive analysis of 100 randomly selected patients with AGS during 2010-2019. RESULTS: Median age at onset was 53 years, 56% were female, 95% reported White race, 86% reported a history of tick bite, and 75% met the criteria for anaphylaxis based on the involvement of ≥2 organ systems. Those reporting dairy reactions were significantly less likely to report isolated mucocutaneous symptoms (3% vs. 24%; ratio [95% CI]: 0.1 [0.1, 0.3]) than those who tolerated dairy, and were more likely to report gastrointestinal symptoms (79% vs. 59%; ratio [95% CI]: 1.3 [0.7, 2.6]), although this difference was not statistically significant. Dairy-tolerant patients demonstrated higher alpha-gal sIgE titers (as a percentage of total IgE) than dairy-reactive patients (GM 4.1 [95% CI: 2.7, 6.1] vs. GM 2.5 [95% CI: 1.3, 4.8], respectively; ratio -1.6 [95% CI: -1.0, 3.9]). CONCLUSION: While tick exposure is common in the southern United States, nearly all AGS patients reported a tick bite. Gastrointestinal symptoms were prominent among those reporting reactions to dairy. Anaphylaxis was common, underscoring the severity and need to raise awareness of AGS among patients and providers.

Decline in Stroke Presentations During COVID-19 Surge.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We aimed to investigate the acute stroke presentations during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: The data were obtained from a health system with 19 emergency departments in northeast Ohio in the United States. Baseline period from January 1 to March 8, 2020, was compared with the COVID period from March 9, to April 2, 2020. The variables included were total daily stroke alerts across the hospital emergency departments, thrombolysis, time to presentation, stroke severity, time from door-to-imaging, time from door-to-needle in thrombolysis, and time from door-to-puncture in thrombectomy. The 2 time periods were compared using nonparametric statistics and Poisson regression. RESULTS: Nine hundred two stroke alerts during the period across the emergency departments were analyzed. Total daily stroke alerts decreased from median, 10 (interquartile range, 8-13) during baseline period to median, 8 (interquartile range, 4-10, P=0.001) during COVID period. Time to presentation, stroke severity, and time to treatment were unchanged. COVID period was associated with decrease in stroke alerts with rate ratio of 0.70 (95% CI, 0.60-0.28). Thrombolysis also decreased with rate ratio, 0.52 (95% CI, 0.28-0.97) but thrombectomy remained unchanged rate ratio, 0.93 (95% CI, 0.52-1.62) Conclusions: We observed a significant decrease in acute stroke presentations by ≈30% across emergency departments at the time of surge of COVID-19 cases. This observation could be attributed to true decline in stroke incidence or patients not seeking medical attention for emergencies during the pandemic.