COVID-19 Pandemic and Quality of Care and Outcomes of Acute Stroke Hospitalizations: the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program

Recurrent stroke admissions with vs without COVID-19 and associated in-hospital mortality: A United States nationwide analysis, 2020

BACKGROUND

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been shown to increase the risk of stroke. However, the prevalence and risk of recurrent stroke in COVID-19 patients with prior stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA), as well as its impact on mortality, are not established.

AIM

To evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on in-hospital mortality, length of stay, and healthcare costs in patients with recurrent strokes.

METHODS

We identified admissions of recurrent stroke (current acute ischemic stroke admissions with at least one prior TIA or stroke) in patients with and without COVID-19 using ICD-10-CM codes using the National Inpatient Sample (2020). We analyzed the impact of COVID-19 on mortality following recurrent stroke admissions by subgroups.

RESULTS

Of 97455 admissions with recurrent stroke, 2140 (2.2%) belonged to the COVID-19-positive group. The COVID-19-positive group had a higher prevalence of diabetes and chronic kidney disease vs the COVID-19 negative group (P < 0.001). Among the subgroups, patients aged > 65 years, patients aged 45-64 years, Asians, Hispanics, whites, and blacks in the COVID-19 positive group had higher rates of all-cause mortality than the COVID-19 negative group (P < 0.01). Higher odds of in-hospital mortality were seen in the group aged 45-64 (OR: 8.40, 95%CI: 4.18-16.91) vs the group aged > 65 (OR: 7.04, 95%CI: 5.24-9.44), males (OR: 7.82, 95%CI: 5.38-11.35) compared to females (OR: 6.15, 95%CI: 4.12-9.18), and in Hispanics (OR: 15.47, 95%CI: 7.61-31.44) and Asians/Pacific Islanders (OR: 14.93, 95%CI: 7.22-30.87) compared to blacks (OR: 5.73, 95%CI: 3.08-10.68), and whites (OR: 5.54, 95%CI: 3.79-8.09).

CONCLUSION

The study highlights the increased risk of all-cause in-hospital mortality in recurrent stroke patients with COVID-19, with a more pronounced increase in middle-aged patients, males, Hispanics, or Asians.

Intracranial hemorrhages in patients with COVID-19: a systematic review of the literature, regarding six cases in an Amazonian population

BACKGROUND

 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a public health emergency worldwide, predominantly affecting the respiratory tract. However, evidence supports the involvement of extrapulmonary sites, including reports of intracranial hemorrhages.

OBJECTIVE

 To describe six original cases and review the literature on intracranial hemorrhages in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 by molecular methods.

METHODS

 A systematic literature review was performed on MEDLINE, PubMed, and NCBI electronic databases to identify eligible studies. Of the total 1,624 articles retrieved, only 53 articles met the inclusion criteria.

RESULTS

 The overall incidence of intracranial hemorrhage in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 was 0.26%. In this patient group, the mean age was 60 years, and the majority were male (68%) with initial respiratory symptoms (73%) and some comorbidity. Before the diagnosis of hemorrhage, 43% of patients were using anticoagulants, 47.3% at therapeutic doses. The intraparenchymal (50%) was the most affected compartment, followed by the subarachnoid (34%), intraventricular (11%), and subdural (7%). There was a predominance of lobar over non-lobar topographies. Multifocal or multicompartmental hemorrhages were described in 25% of cases. Overall mortality in the cohort studies was 44%, while around 55% of patients were discharged from hospital.

CONCLUSION

 Despite the unusual association, the combination of these two diseases is associated with high rates of mortality and morbidity, as well as more severe clinicoradiological presentations. Further studies are needed to provide robust evidence on the exact pathophysiology behind the occurrence of intracranial hemorrhages after COVID-19 infection.

Was COVID-19 Associated With Worsening Inequities in Stroke Treatment and Outcomes?

Background COVID-19 stressed hospitals and may have disproportionately affected the stroke outcomes and treatment of Black and Hispanic individuals. Methods and Results This retrospective study used 100% Medicare Provider Analysis and Review file data from between 2016 and 2020. We used interrupted time series analyses to examine whether the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated disparities in stroke outcomes and reperfusion therapy. Among 1 142 560 hospitalizations for acute ischemic strokes, 90 912 (8.0%) were Hispanic individuals; 162 752 (14.2%) were non-Hispanic Black individuals; and 888 896 (77.8%) were non-Hispanic White individuals. The adjusted odds of mortality increased by 51% (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.51 [95% CI, 1.34-1.69]; P<0.001), whereas the rates of nonhome discharges decreased by 11% (aOR, 0.89 [95% CI, 0.82-0.96]; P=0.003) for patients hospitalized during weeks when the hospital's proportion of patients with COVID-19 was >30%. The overall rates of motor deficits (P=0.25) did not increase, and the rates of reperfusion therapy did not decrease as the weekly COVID-19 burden increased. Black patients had lower 30-day mortality (aOR, 0.70 [95% CI, 0.69-0.72]; P<0.001) but higher rates of motor deficits (aOR, 1.14 [95% CI, 1.12-1.16]; P<0.001) than White individuals. Hispanic patients had lower 30-day mortality and similar rates of motor deficits compared with White individuals. There was no differential increase in adverse outcomes or reduction in reperfusion therapy among Black and Hispanic individuals compared with White individuals as the weekly COVID-19 burden increased. Conclusions This national study of Medicare patients found no evidence that the hospital COVID-19 burden exacerbated disparities in treatment and outcomes for Black and Hispanic individuals admitted with an acute ischemic stroke.

Did COVID-19 impact stroke services? A multicenter study

Background

It has been reported that acute stroke services were compromised during COVID-19 due to various pandemic-related issues. We aimed to investigate these changes by recruiting centers from different countries.

Methods

Eight countries participated in this cross-sectional, observational, retrospective study by providing data from their stroke data base. We compared 1 year before to 1 year during COVID-19 as regards onset to door (OTD), door to needle (DTN), door to groin (DTG), duration of hospital stay, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at baseline, 24 h, and at discharge as well as modified Rankin score (mRS) on discharge and at 3 months follow-up.

Results

During the pandemic year, there was a reduction in the number of patients, median age was significantly lower, admission NIHSS was higher, hemorrhagic stroke increased, and OTD and DTG showed no difference, while DTN time was longer, rtPA administration was decreased, thrombectomy was more frequent, and hospital stay was shorter. mRS was less favorable on discharge and at 3 months.

Conclusion

COVID-19 showed variable effects on stroke services. Some were negatively impacted as the number of patients presenting to hospitals, DTN time, and stroke outcome, while others were marginally affected as the type of management.

Did COVID-19 Change Emergency Department Admissions?

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to describe the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on emergency department (ED) admissions for urgent diagnoses.

METHODS

From January 1, 2019, until December 31, 2020, patients older than 18 years who attended the ED at University Hospital of Leuven (UZ Leuven, Belgium) were included. Urgent diagnoses selected in the First Hour Quintet were collected. The periods of the pandemic waves in 2020 were analyzed and compared with the same time period in 2019.

RESULTS

During the first wave of the pandemic, 16 075 patients attended the ED compared with 16 893 patients during the comparison period in 2019. The proportion of patients having one of the diagnoses of the First Hour Quintet was similar between the periods (4.4% vs 4.5%). During the second wave, 14 739 patients attended the ED compared with 18 704 patients during the same period in 2019; 5.6% of patients had a diagnosis of the First Hour Quintet compared with 4.3% of patients in the comparison period.

CONCLUSION

This study showed a decrease in the number of patients attending the ED during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further studies are needed to determine for which conditions patients visited the ED less.

COVID-19 and Risk of Acute Ischemic Stroke Among Medicare Beneficiaries Aged 65 Years or Older: Self-Controlled Case Series Study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Findings of association between COVID-19 and stroke remain inconsistent, ranging from significant association, absence of association to less than expected ischemic stroke among hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The present study examined the association between COVID-19 and risk of acute ischemic stroke (AIS).

METHODS

We included 37,379 Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries aged ≥65 years diagnosed with COVID-19 from April 1, 2020 through February 28, 2021 and AIS hospitalization from January 1, 2019 through February 28, 2021. We used a self-controlled case series design to examine the association between COVID-19 and AIS and estimated the incident rate ratios (IRR) by comparing incidence of AIS in risk periods (0-3, 4-7, 8-14, 15-28 days after diagnosis of COVID-19) vs. control periods.

RESULTS

Among 37,379 Medicare FFS beneficiaries with COVID-19 and AIS, the median age at diagnosis of COVID-19 was 80.4 (interquartile range 73.5-87.1) years and 56.7% were women. When AIS at day of exposure (day=0) included in the risk periods, IRRs at 0-3, 4-7, 8-14, and 15-28 days following COVID-19 diagnosis were 10.3 (95% confidence interval 9.86-10.8), 1.61 (1.44-1.80), 1.44 (1.32-1.57), and 1.09 (1.02-1.18); when AIS at day 0 excluded in the risk periods, the corresponding IRRs were 1.77 (1.57-2.01) (day 1-3), 1.60 (1.43-1.79), 1.43 (1.31-1.56), and 1.09 (1.01-1.17), respectively. The association appeared to be stronger among younger beneficiaries and among beneficiaries without prior history of stroke but largely consistent across sex and race/ethnicities.

DISCUSSION

Risk of AIS among Medicare FFS beneficiaries was ten times (day 0 cases in the risk period) as high during the first 3 days after diagnosis of COVID-19 as during the control period and the risk associated with COVID-19 appeared to be stronger among those aged 65-74 years and those without prior history of stroke.

CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE

This study provides Class IV evidence that SARS-CoV-2 infection, the virus that causes COVID-19, is associated with increased risk of AIS in the first three days after diagnosis in Medicare FFS beneficiaries ≥ 65 years age.