Stroke Admissions, Stroke Severity, and Treatment Rates in Urban and Rural Areas During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ABSTRACT: Background: Many regions worldwide reported a decline of stroke admissions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It remains unclear whether urban and rural regions experienced similar declines and whether deviations from historical admission numbers were more pronounced among specific age, stroke severity or treatment groups. Methods: We used registry datasets from (a) nine acute stroke hospitals in Berlin, and (b) nine hospitals from a rural TeleNeurology network in Northeastern Germany for primary analysis of 3-week-rolling average of stroke/TIA admissions before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We compared course of stroke admission numbers with regional cumulative severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (Sars-CoV-2) infection

SUBMITTER: Erdur H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7815522 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature