Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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Improving Stroke Care in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic Through Simulation: Practice Your Protocols!
During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, infectious disease control is of utmost importance in acute stroke treatment. This is a new situation for most stroke teams that often leads to uncertainty among physicians, nurses, and technicians who are in immediate contact with patients. The situation is made even more complicated by numerous new regulations and protocols that are released in rapid succession. ⋯ One week of simulation training allowed us to identify numerous latent safety threats and to adjust our institution-specific protocols to mitigate them. It also helped our physicians and nurses to practice relevant tasks and behavioral patterns (eg, proper donning and doffing PPE, where to dispose potentially contaminated equipment) to minimize their infectious exposure and to adapt to the new situation. We therefore strongly encourage other hospitals to adopt simulation training to prepare their medical teams for code strokes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represents a global public health crisis, disrupting emergency healthcare services. We determined whether COVID-19 has resulted in delays in stroke presentation and affected the delivery of acute stroke services in a comprehensive stroke center in Hong Kong. ⋯ During the early containment phase of COVID-19, we noted a prolongation in stroke onset to hospital arrival time and a significant reduction in individuals arriving at the hospital within 4.5 hours and presenting with transient ischemic attack. Public education about stroke should continue to be reinforced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Multicenter Study
Acute Stroke in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multicenter Study.
This study aims to assess the number of patients with acute ischemic cerebrovascular events seeking in-patient medical emergency care since the implementation of social distancing measures in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. ⋯ These data demonstrate and quantify decreasing hospital admissions due to ischemic cerebrovascular events and suggest that this may be a consequence of social distancing measures, in particular because hospital resources for acute stroke care were not limited during this period. Hence, raising public awareness is necessary to avoid serious healthcare and economic consequences of undiagnosed and untreated strokes and transient ischemic attacks.
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Review Case Reports
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection and Ischemic Stroke.
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The purpose of the study is to analyze how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affected acute stroke care in a Comprehensive Stroke Center. ⋯ The COVID-19 pandemic reduced by a quarter the stroke admissions and thrombectomies performed at a Comprehensive Stroke Center but did not affect the quality of care metrics. During the lockdown, there was an overload of emergency calls but fewer Stroke Code activations, particularly in elderly patients. Hospital contingency plans, patient transport systems, and population-targeted alerts must act concertedly to better protect the chain of stroke care in times of pandemic.