Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jul;51(7):1996-2001.
doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.030225. Epub 2020 May 20.

Impact of the COVID-19 Epidemic on Stroke Care and Potential Solutions

Jing Zhao  1 , Hang Li  2 , David Kung  3 , Marc Fisher  4 , Ying Shen  5 , Renyu Liu  6
Affiliations

Impact of the COVID-19 Epidemic on Stroke Care and Potential Solutions

Jing Zhao et al. Stroke. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

Background and purpose: When the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak became paramount, medical care for other devastating diseases was negatively impacted. In this study, we investigated the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on stroke care across China.

Methods: Data from the Big Data Observatory Platform for Stroke of China consisting of 280 hospitals across China demonstrated a significant drop in the number of cases of thrombolysis and thrombectomy. We designed a survey to investigate the major changes during the COVID-19 outbreak and potential causes of these changes. The survey was distributed to the leaders of stroke centers in these 280 hospitals.

Results: From the data of Big Data Observatory Platform for Stroke of China, the total number of thrombolysis and thrombectomy cases dropped 26.7% (P<0.0001) and 25.3% (P<0.0001), respectively, in February 2020 as compared with February 2019. We retrieved 227 valid complete datasets from the 280 stroke centers. Nearly 50% of these hospitals were designated hospitals for COVID-19. The capacity for stroke care was reduced in the majority of the hospitals. Most of the stroke centers stopped or reduced their efforts in stroke education for the public. Hospital admissions related to stroke dropped ≈40%; thrombolysis and thrombectomy cases dropped ≈25%, which is similar to the results from the Big Data Observatory Platform for Stroke of China as compared with the same period in 2019. Many factors contributed to the reduced admissions and prehospital delays; lack of stroke knowledge and proper transportation were significant limiting factors. Patients not coming to the hospital for fear of virus infection was also a likely key factor.

Conclusions: The COVID-19 outbreak impacted stroke care significantly in China, including prehospital and in-hospital care, resulting in a significant drop in admissions, thrombolysis, and thrombectomy. Although many factors contributed, patients not coming to the hospital was probably the major limiting factor. Recommendations based on the data are provided.

Keywords: coronavirus; humans; infections; stroke; thrombectomy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Zhao J, Rudd A, Liu R. Challenges and potential solutions of stroke care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Stroke. 2020;51:1356–1357. STROKEAHA120029701. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lyde P on behalf of the AHA/ASA Stroke Council Leadership. Temporary emergency guidance to US stroke centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stroke. 2020 doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.030023. - PubMed
    1. Mao L, Jin H, Wang M, Hu Y, Chen S, He Q, et al. Neurologic manifestations of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in Wuhan, China. JAMA Neurol. 2020 doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.1127. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Li X, Weng Y, Liu R, Zhao J. Significant stroke knowledge deficiencies in community physician improved with stroke 120. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2019;28:104323. doi: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2019.104323. - PubMed
    1. Zha J, Eckenhoff MF, Sun WZ, Liu R. Stroke 112: a universal stroke awareness program to reduce language and response barriers. Stroke. 2018;49:1766–1769. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.118.021729. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms