Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Stroke Severity and Mortality in the South-East of Santiago, Chile

Abstract

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Navigating stroke care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review

“…The included articles were composed of 46 retrospective studies (cohort (n=7); observational (n=11); cross-sectional (n=3); archive (n=1); review (n=1); unspecified (n=23)); 10 prospective studies (cohort (n=2); observational (n=3); cross-sectional (n=3); unspecified (n=2)); 26 observational studies (reports (n=9); cohort (n=7); cross-sectional (n=1); unspecified (n=9)); one matched pairs study; and one survey and one exploratory design. The included articles demonstrated wide geographical spread spanning Bangladesh 29 ; Canada 30–32; Chile 33 ; China 15,34–37,37–44; Egypt 45 ; Finland 46 ; France 47 ; Germany 48–50; India 51 ; Iran 52,53 ; Israel 54–56; Italy 8,57–67; Japan 9,68 ; Lithuania 69 ; Malaysia 70 ; Netherlands 71 ; Norway 72,73 ; Saudi Arabia 74,75 ; Spain 76–79; Switzerland 80 ; Taiwan 81 ; United Kingdom 82–84; and United States of America 7,20,24,39,85–104 . The studies encompassed participants from a wide range of diverse backgrounds, including individuals from various racial and ethnic communities, linguistic minorities, and persons with differing levels of disability.…”

“…Despite discussions about the preservation and, in some cases, improvement in stroke care quality during the pandemic 20,81,82 , challenges and disruptions in outpatient care, rehabilitation, and follow-up care were noted in several articles 6,7,30,62,65,66 . Furthermore, studies indicated that patients treated during the pandemic had worse discharge outcomes and increased mortality rates 20,33,85 . Regrettably, higher rates of in-hospital death and hospice discharges were observed during the pandemic period, attributed to longer treatment delays 16,26,79,87 .…”

“…Individuals experiencing mild stroke symptoms and those with lower functional abilities were less inclined to seek medical attention 7,42,59,77 . Patients tended to delay seeking medical help, often surpassing the eligible treatment timeframes 33,39 . Additionally, external factors such as national traffic control measures (for example, in China) played a role in hindering prompt access to healthcare services 15 .…”

The impact of a two-year long COVID-19 public health restriction program on mechanical thrombectomy outcomes in a stroke network

“…In several countries the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on stroke was seen as an initial decline in the overall number cases and in MT eligible patients, and there were no differences in outcomes or results of advanced treatment [ 3 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 23 , 24 ] Nevertheless, this does not seem to be the reality in lower to middle income countries, especially in South America, like Brazil and Chile, where there is a paucity of data available 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 . Although our differences in 90-day mortality and dependency were not statistically different, there was a trend for worse outcomes and higher mortality.…”

COVID-19 as a risk factor for long-term mortality in patients managed by the emergency medical system: A prospective, multicenter, ambulance-based cohort study

“…At the peak of the pandemic, a drop in notifications to emergency call centers for life-threatening diseases was observed, with a significant decrease in incidents attended by the emergency medical services (EMS) and the emergency department (ED) ( 2 ). A marked decrease in cases of acute myocardial infarction, stroke, or traffic accidents has also been reported ( 3 – 5 ), prioritizing COVID-19 ( 2 ). EMS were called upon to respond to biohazard medical emergencies, monopolizing patients with COVID-19 and virtually all ambulance transfers.…”