Croatian study on COVID-19-positive stroke patients during the second wave of the pandemic

Scientific paper - Original scientific paper

• Author: Stela Rutović
• Author: Davor Sporiš
• Author: Miljenko Crnjaković
• Author: Gorana Vukorepa
• Author: Sabina Deveđija
• Author: Branko Malojčić
• Author's institution: University of Zagreb; School of Medicine; (Department of Neurology)
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: BIOMEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE; Clinical Medical Sciences; Neurology

Abstract (english)

Aim: To investigate stroke characteristics in patients with concomitant coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in Croatia during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Methods: This retrospective study investigated the characteristics of two groups of ischemic stroke patients: those who developed COVID-19 infection before stroke and those who developed the infection during the hospital stay after stroke onset. Stroke etiology was classified according to the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) classification.
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Results: We analyzed data from 255 stroke patients from 12 Croatian hospitals. The two groups of ischemic stroke patients differed in stroke etiology (P=0.038). Patients with COVID-19 infection before stroke had fewer cardioembolic strokes (46% vs 29.1%), more cryptogenic strokes (32.5% vs 14.3%), and more strokes in multiple vascular territories (12.4% vs 1.8%). The percentage of large-vessel occlusions was high in both groups (49.6% and 44.4%). Median modified Rankin Scale score on discharge was 4 in both groups. Mortality was 36.4% in the group with stroke after COVID-19 and 33.3% in the group with COVID-19 after stroke.
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Conclusion: Ischemic stroke after COVID-19 differs in etiology from ischemic stroke complicated by COVID-19 infection. Both patient groups are characterized by severe disability and high mortality. Raising the awareness of prehospital stroke and optimization of clinical workflow are important if we want to improve the stroke outcomes by acute recanalization techniques.

• Keywords (english): COVID-19 / complications; COVID-19 / epidemiology; Croatia / epidemiology; Humans; Ischemic Stroke / epidemiology; Ischemic Stroke / etiology; Pandemics; Retrospective Studies; Stroke / epidemiology; Stroke / etiology
• Language: english
• Publication type: Scientific paper - Original scientific paper
• Publication status: Published
• Peer review: Peer review
• Publication version: Published version
• Journal title: Croatian Medical Journal
• Numbering: vol. 63, no. 5, pp. 431-437
• p-ISSN: 0353-9504
• e-ISSN: 1332-8166
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3325/cmj.2022.63.431
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:105:070562
• Publication: 2022-10-31
• Document URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9648083/
• Type of resource: Text
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2022-12-06 10:04:14