Objective:The objectives of this study were to measure the global impact of the pandemic on the volumes for intravenous thrombolysis (IVT), IVT transfers, and stroke hospitalizations over 4 months at the height of the pandemic (March 1 to June 30, 2020) compared with two control 4-month periods.Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional, observational, retrospective study across 6 continents, 70 countries, and 457 stroke centers. Diagnoses were identified by their ICD-10 codes and/or classifications in stroke databases.Results:There were 91,373 stroke admissions in the 4 months immediately before compared to 80,894 admissions during the pandemic months, representing an 11.5% (95%CI, -11.7 to - 11.3, p<0.0001) decline. There were 13,334 IVT therapies in the 4 months preceding compared to 11,570 procedures during the pandemic, representing a 13.2% (95%CI, -13.8 to -12.7, p<0.0001) drop. Interfacility IVT transfers decreased from 1,337 to 1,178, or an 11.9% decrease (95%CI, -13.7 to -10.3, p=0.001). Recovery of stroke hospitalization volume (9.5%, 95%CI 9.2-9.8, p<0.0001) was noted over the two later (May, June) versus the two earlier (March, April) pandemic months. There was a 1.48% stroke rate across 119,967 COVID-19 hospitalizations. SARS-CoV-2 infection was noted in 3.3% (1,722/52,026) of all stroke admissions.Conclusions:The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a global decline in the volume of stroke hospitalizations, IVT, and interfacility IVT transfers. Primary stroke centers and centers with higher COVID19 inpatient volumes experienced steeper declines. Recovery of stroke hospitalization was noted in the later pandemic months.

Background and Objectives:Declines in stroke admission, intravenous thrombolysis, and mechanical thrombectomy volumes were reported during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a paucity of data on the longer-term effect of the pandemic on stroke volumes over the course of a year and through the second wave of the pandemic. We sought to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volumes of stroke admissions, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), intravenous thrombolysis (IVT), and mechanical thrombectomy over a one-year period at the onset of the pandemic (March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021) compared with the immediately preceding year (March 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020).Methods:We conducted a longitudinal retrospective study across 6 continents, 56 countries, and 275 stroke centers. We collected volume data for COVID-19 admissions and 4 stroke metrics: ischemic stroke admissions, ICH admissions, intravenous thrombolysis treatments, and mechanical thrombectomy procedures. Diagnoses were identified by their ICD-10 codes or classifications in stroke databases.Results:There were 148,895 stroke admissions in the one-year immediately before compared to 138,453 admissions during the one-year pandemic, representing a 7% decline (95% confidence interval [95% CI 7.1, 6.9]; p<0.0001). ICH volumes declined from 29,585 to 28,156 (4.8%, [5.1, 4.6]; p<0.0001) and IVT volume from 24,584 to 23,077 (6.1%, [6.4, 5.8]; p<0.0001). Larger declines were observed at high volume compared to low volume centers (all p<0.0001). There was no significant change in mechanical thrombectomy volumes (0.7%, [0.6,0.9]; p=0.49). Stroke was diagnosed in 1.3% [1.31,1.38] of 406,792 COVID-19 hospitalizations. SARS-CoV-2 infection was present in 2.9% ([2.82,2.97], 5,656/195,539) of all stroke hospitalizations.Discussion:There was a global decline and shift to lower volume centers of stroke admission volumes, ICH volumes, and IVT volumes during the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the prior year. Mechanical thrombectomy volumes were preserved. These results suggest preservation in the stroke care of higher severity of disease through the first pandemic year.Trial Registration Information:This study is registered underNCT04934020.

COVID-19 pandemic has led to a change in the way we manage acute medical illnesses. This pandemic had a negative impact on stroke care worldwide. The World Stroke Organization (WSO) has raised concerns due to the lack of available care and compromised acute stroke services globally. The numbers of thrombolysis and thrombectomy therapies are declining. As well as, the rates and door-to treatment times for thrombolysis and thrombectomy therapies are increasing. The stroke units are being reallocated to serve COVID-19 patients, and stroke teams are being redeployed to COVID-19 centers. Covid 19 confirmed cases and deaths are rising day by day. This pandemic clearly threatened and threatening all stroke care achievements regionally. Managing stroke patients during this pandemic is even more challenging at our region. The Middle East and North Africa Stroke and Interventional Neurotherapies Organization (MENA-SINO) is the main stroke organization regionally. MENA-SINO urges the need to developing new strategies and recommendations for stroke care during this pandemic. This will require multiple channels of interventions and create a protective code stroke with fast triaging path. Developing and expanding the tele-stroke programs are urgently required. There is an urgent need for enhancing collaboration and cooperation between stroke expertise regionally and internationally. Integrating such measures will inevitably lead to an improvement and upgrading of the services to a satisfactory level.

No abstract

BackgroundAcute stroke care is complex and requires multidisciplinary networking. There are insufficient data on stroke care in the Middle East and adjacent regions in Asia and Africa.ObjectiveEvaluate the state of readiness of stroke programs in the Middle East North Africa and surrounding regions (MENA+) to treat acute stroke.MethodOnline questionnaire survey on the evaluation of stroke care across hospitals of MENA+ region between April 2021 and January 2022.ResultsThe survey was completed by 34/50 (68%) hospitals. The median population serviced by participating hospitals was 2 million. The median admission of patients with stroke/year was 600 (250–1,100). The median length of stay at the stroke units was 5 days. 34/34 (100%) of these hospitals have 24/7 CT head available. 17/34 (50%) have emergency guidelines for prehospital acute stroke care. Mechanical thrombectomy with/without IVT was available in 24/34 (70.6%). 51% was the median (IQR; 15–75%) of patients treated with IVT within 60 min from arrival. Thirty-five minutes were the median time to reverse warfarin-associated ICH.ConclusionThis is the first large study on the availability of resources for the management of acute stroke in the MENA+ region. We noted the disparity in stroke care between high-income and low-income countries. Concerted efforts are required to improve stroke care in low-income countries. Accreditation of stroke programs in the region will be helpful.

Antithrombin (AT III) is a potent inactivator of thrombin and factor Xa and plays a major role in the inhibition of coagulation. Inherited deficiencies of AT III are rare and pose a risk of developing venous thromboembolic disease. They can be subdivided into type I (quantitative) or type II (qualitative). Mild AT III deficiency is associated with a 2.4- to 3.5-fold risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Thrombosis in patients with AT III deficiency predominantly manifests as a deep vein thrombosis and may subsequently present as pulmonary embolism. It can also occur in uncommon sites such as cerebral, retinal, mesenteric, portal, hepatic, and splenic veins. We report a case of an unprovoked cerebral venous thrombosis in a 24-year-old Omani male, without any comorbidity, who was found to have quantitative deficiency of AT III. He has a significant history of family members having VTE in varying venous beds. This case highlights the wide spectrum of clinical manifestations of quantitative deficiency of AT III and stresses on the importance of taking a good family history and the need for testing for inherited thrombophilia since it can alter long-term management.

Introduction: Cerebellar infarct can present with a broad spectrum of clinical and radiographic features. Recognizing this spectrum is extremely important for prompt diagnosis and to avoid morbidity and mortality. Objective: To identify the clinical and radiological profile of patients presenting with isolated acute cerebellar infarct. Methods: Retrospective study carried out at the central stroke unit of Oman over 27 months. Only patients with isolated acute cerebellar infarct confirmed by either magnetic resonance imaging or computerized tomography (CT) were included in this study. A total of 76 cases were identified. Results: Isolated cerebellar infarct constituted 4% of all acute ischemic strokes treated during the study period. Gait imbalance and difficulty in articulating were seen in 30/48 (63%) and 12/48 patients (25%), respectively. Ataxia and nystagmus were the main signs seen 30/48 (63%) and 10/48 (21%), respectively. Large artery atherosclerosis comprised 15/48 (31%), of the underlying etiology. Normal and complete posterior circulation was seen only in 6/36 (17%). Unilateral or bilateral hypoplasia or absence of posterior communicating artery (PCOM) were the commonest variants seen in our patients. The cerebellar arterial territory most commonly involved in this series was posterior inferior cerebellar artery (58%). Infarct extension was seen in 10/48 patients (21%), with 4/10 (40%) having bilateral absent PCOM followed by 2/10 (20%) normal posterior circulation. Conclusions: Acute gait imbalance and difficulty in articulating can be the only presenting symptoms in isolated cerebellar infarct. Plain CT in the acute phase can miss such infarcts in up to 46% cases. The majority of cases had an incomplete anatomy of the posterior circulation.

Introduction The influence of climatic, weather conditions, and circadian variations on cerebrovascular diseases has been evaluated in many studies. However, the results have been controversial. Objective This study aims at identifying the relationship between the circadian and circannual climatic patterns in the Governorate of Muscat and their impact on stroke and its subtype. Method From January 2016 to December 2019, a retrospective study of all confirmed acute stroke cases admitted to the central stroke unit was conducted. Only Omani Patients were included. The data was collected through a computerized medical record system. Results A total of 836 Omani patients were involved in the study. Ischemic stroke accounted for 731 cases (87.4%), while intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) accounted for 105 (12.6%). 62.7% of the overall sample size was made up of men. Between different days times, there was a statistically significant difference in the occurrence of ischemic stroke and ICH (likelihood ratio, P = .010). The majority of ischemic strokes (62.2%) occurred between 6 am and 6 pm (daytime), and the majority of ICH (54%) occurred between 6 pm and 6 am (nighttime). The majority of ischemic strokes (52.9%) and ICH (61.9%) occurred during the winter months. Conclusion The majority of both stroke subtypes were found to occur in the morning hours and during winter months. These findings might aid in the better organization of acute stroke care. Further analysis of these findings could aid in the development of better primary prevention strategies.