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.

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Objective Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage is responsible for 20% of all cases of cerebrovascular accidents, which might lead to functional disabilities and death. There are few epidemiological data on spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage in Brazil, and more specifically in the southern region of the country. Methods We reviewed data of 221 patients with intracerebral hemorrhage who attended our department between January of 2004 and December of 2013 and were registered as I61 and I62 according to the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10). Results From the 221 cases, 53.8% were male, and the median age was 63 years old. Arterial hypertension was reported in 62.4% of the patients. Surgical treatment was performed in 28.9% of all cases and pneumonia affected 19.9%. In 73.4% of the cases, the patients died or were severely disabled at discharge. We found an association of heart disease, coagulopathies, chronic kidney disease, anticoagulant drugs use, surgical treatment, and pneumonia with a poorer outcome. Conclusion The present study describes the epidemiological profile of intracerebral hemorrhage in a southern Brazilian population during a 10-year period.

HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) is an important cause of nontraumatic and noncompressive chronic myelopathy which generally has no improvement regardless of treatment. On the other hand, ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) is also a cause of myelopathy; however, it can improve in some cases when surgical treatment is well applied. In this case report, we presented a case of a patient with HAM/TSP overlapping OLF which showed some improvement with surgical treatment.