Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 21, 2025
Optimized Management of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke
Published on: January 18, 2018
Global impact of COVID-19 on stroke care
Raul G Nogueira1, Mohamad Abdalkader2, Muhammed M Qureshi3
1Neurology, Grady Memorial Hospital, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced global hospitalizations for stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, and mechanical thrombectomy procedures. These declines occurred across various healthcare settings, irrespective of COVID-19 burden.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Public Health
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted global healthcare systems.
- Understanding its impact on acute neurological care is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospitalizations for stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, and mechanical thrombectomy.
- To compare these volumes during the initial pandemic phase (March-May 2020) with pre-pandemic periods.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective, observational, international study involving 187 comprehensive stroke centers across 40 countries.
- Data collected on stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, and mechanical thrombectomy hospitalizations using ICD-10 codes and stroke databases.
- Comparison of volumes during March-May 2020 against two preceding three-month control periods.
Main Results:
- Global hospitalization volumes declined: stroke by 19.2%, intracranial hemorrhage by 11.5%, and mechanical thrombectomy by 12.7%.
- Reductions were observed across centers with varying COVID-19 burdens and pre-pandemic stroke volumes.
- High COVID-19 burden centers showed greater declines in mechanical thrombectomy volumes (-20.5%).
Conclusions:
- The COVID-19 pandemic correlated with a worldwide decrease in stroke-related hospitalizations and mechanical thrombectomy procedures.
- Volume reductions were consistent globally, irrespective of local COVID-19 severity or center's prior stroke care capacity.
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic led to profound changes in the organization of health care systems worldwide.
Aims:
We sought to measure the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volumes for mechanical thrombectomy, stroke, and intracranial hemorrhage hospitalizations over a three-month period at the height of the pandemic (1 March-31 May 2020) compared with two control three-month periods (immediately preceding and one year prior).
Methods:
Retrospective, observational, international study, across 6 continents, 40 countries, and 187 comprehensive stroke centers. The diagnoses were identified by their ICD-10 codes and/or classifications in stroke databases at participating centers.
Results:
The hospitalization volumes for any stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, and mechanical thrombectomy were 26,699, 4002, and 5191 in the three months immediately before versus 21,576, 3540, and 4533 during the first three pandemic months, representing declines of 19.2% (95%CI, -19.7 to -18.7), 11.5% (95%CI, -12.6 to -10.6), and 12.7% (95%CI, -13.6 to -11.8), respectively. The decreases were noted across centers with high, mid, and low COVID-19 hospitalization burden, and also across high, mid, and low volume stroke/mechanical thrombectomy centers. High-volume COVID-19 centers (-20.5%) had greater declines in mechanical thrombectomy volumes than mid- (-10.1%) and low-volume (-8.7%) centers (p < 0.0001). There was a 1.5% stroke rate across 54,366 COVID-19 hospitalizations. SARS-CoV-2 infection was noted in 3.9% (784/20,250) of all stroke admissions.
Conclusion:
The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a global decline in the volume of overall stroke hospitalizations, mechanical thrombectomy procedures, and intracranial hemorrhage admission volumes. Despite geographic variations, these volume reductions were observed regardless of COVID-19 hospitalization burden and pre-pandemic stroke/mechanical thrombectomy volumes.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:28Acute Coronary Syndrome IV: Interprofessional Care
01:23Atherosclerosis IV: Nursing Management
01:27Regulation of Stroke Volume
Preload refers to the degree of stretch on the heart before it contracts. It's analogous to the stretching of a rubber band; the more it's stretched, the more forcefully it snaps back. This concept is encapsulated in the Frank-Starling law of the...
01:27Coronary Artery Disease V: Interprofessional Care
01:22Cardiac Output II: Effect of Stroke Volume on Cardiac Output
Preload
Preload refers to the initial elongation of the cardiac myocytes before contraction and is related to the volume of blood filling the heart at the end of diastole, or end-diastolic volume. The...
01:26Aneurysm III: Interprofessional Care