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COVID-19: Stroke Admissions, Emergency Department Visits, and Prevention Clinic Referrals.

Maria Bres BullrichSebastian FridmanJennifer L MandziaLauren M MaiAlexander KhawJuan Camilo Vargas GonzalezRodrigo BagurLuciano A Sposato
Published in: The Canadian journal of neurological sciences. Le journal canadien des sciences neurologiques (2020)
We assessed the impact of the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic on code stroke activations in the emergency department, stroke unit admissions, and referrals to the stroke prevention clinic at London's regional stroke center, serving a population of 1.8 million in Ontario, Canada. We found a 20% drop in the number of code strokes in 2020 compared to 2019, immediately after the first cases of COVID-19 were officially confirmed. There were no changes in the number of stroke admissions and there was a 22% decrease in the number of clinic referrals, only after the provincial lockdown. Our findings suggest that the decrease in code strokes was mainly driven by patient-related factors such as fear to be exposed to the SARS-CoV-2, while the reduction in clinic referrals was largely explained by hospital policies and the Government lockdown.
Keyphrases
  • coronavirus disease
  • sars cov
  • atrial fibrillation
  • emergency department
  • primary care
  • respiratory syndrome coronavirus
  • healthcare
  • public health
  • cerebral ischemia
  • brain injury