Background and Purpose: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been associated with an increased incidence of thrombotic events, including stroke. However, characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 patients with stroke are not well known. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study of risk factors, stroke characteristics, and short-term outcomes in a large health system in New York City. We included consecutively admitted patients with acute cerebrovascular events from March 1, 2020 through April 30, 2020. Data were stratified by COVID-19 status, and demographic variables, medical comorbidities, stroke characteristics, imaging results, and in-hospital outcomes were examined. Among COVID-19-positive patients, we also summarized laboratory test results. Results: Of 277 patients with stroke, 105 (38.0%) were COVID-19-positive. Compared with COVID-19-negative patients, COVID-19-positive patients were more likely to have a cryptogenic (51.8% versus 22.3%, P <0.0001) stroke cause and were more likely to suffer ischemic stroke in the temporal ( P =0.02), parietal ( P =0.002), occipital ( P =0.002), and cerebellar ( P =0.028) regions. In COVID-19-positive patients, mean coagulation markers were slightly elevated (prothrombin time 15.4±3.6 seconds, partial thromboplastin time 38.6±24.5 seconds, and international normalized ratio 1.4±1.3). Outcomes were worse among COVID-19-positive patients, including longer length of stay ( P <0.0001), greater percentage requiring intensive care unit care ( P =0.017), and greater rate of neurological worsening during admission ( P <0.0001); additionally, more COVID-19-positive patients suffered in-hospital death (33% versus 12.9%, P <0.0001). Conclusions: Baseline characteristics in patients with stroke were similar comparing those with and without COVID-19. However, COVID-19-positive patients were more likely to experience stroke in a lobar location, more commonly had a cryptogenic cause, and had worse outcomes.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers saliva contact the lead transmission mean of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Saliva droplets or aerosols expelled by sneezing, coughing, breathing, and talking may carry this virus. People in close distance may be exposed directly to these droplets or indirectly when touching the droplets that fall on surrounding surfaces and ending up contracting COVID-19 after touching the mucosa tissue of their faces. It is of great interest to quickly and effectively detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in an environment, but the existing methods only work in laboratory settings, to the best of our knowledge. However, it may be possible to detect the presence of saliva in the environment and proceed with prevention measures. However, detecting saliva itself has not been documented in the literature. On the other hand, many sensors that detect different organic components in saliva to monitor a person’s health and diagnose different diseases, ranging from diabetes to dental health, have been proposed and they may be used to detect the presence of saliva. This paper surveys sensors that detect organic and inorganic components of human saliva. Humidity sensors are also considered in the detection of saliva because a large portion of saliva is water. Moreover, sensors that detect infectious viruses are also included as they may also be embedded into saliva sensors for a confirmation of the presence of the virus. A classification of sensors by their working principles and the substances they detect is presented, including the sensors’ specifications, sample size, and sensitivity. Indications of which sensors are portable and suitable for field application are presented. This paper also discusses future research and challenges that must be resolved to realize practical saliva sensors. Such sensors may help minimize the spread of not only COVID-19 but also other infectious diseases.

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