IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a dramatic unexplained decline in hospital admissions due to acute coronary syndromes and stroke. Several theories have emerged aiming to explain this decline, mostly revolving around the fear of contracting the disease and thus avoiding hospital visits.AimsIn this study, we aim to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stroke admissions to a tertiary care centre in Qatar.MethodsThe Hamad General Hospital stroke database was interrogated for stroke admissions between September 2019 and May 2020. The number of stroke admissions, stroke subtypes and short-term outcomes was compared between the ‘pre-COVID-19’ period (September 2019 to February 2020) and the COVID-19 pandemic period (March to May 2020).ResultsWe observed a significant decline in monthly admissions in March (157), April (128) and May (135) compared with the pre-COVID-19 6-month average (229) (p=0.024). The reduction in admissions was most evident in functional stroke mimics. The average admissions decreased from 87 to 34 per month (p=0.0001). Although there were no significant differences in admissions due to ischaemic stroke (IS), intracranial haemorrhage or transient ischaemic attacks between the two periods, we noted a relative decrease in IS due to small vessel disease and an increase in those due to large vessel atherosclerosis in March to May 2020.ConclusionsThe decline in overall stroke admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic is most likely related to concerns of contracting the infection, evidenced mainly by a decline in admissions of stroke mimics. However, a relative increase in large vessel occlusions raises suspicion of pathophysiological effects of the virus, and requires further investigation.

ObjectivesThe long-term acute stroke outcome has not been well studied in the Middle-Eastern population. The primary objective of our study is to compare the long-term outcome of acute ischaemic stroke (IS) with/without previous cerebrovascular/cardiovascular disease (CVD) to stroke mimics (SM) with CVD.Settings and participantsThe Qatar stroke database was reviewed for IS and SM admissions in Qatari Nationals between 2013 and 2019.OutcomesPatients were prospectively assessed for development of recurrent stroke, myocardial infarction or death. Frequency of major cardiovascular events (MACEs) were compared between patients with or without a previous CVD.ResultsThere were 1114 stroke admissions (633 IS (prior CVD 211/18.9%), 481 SM (prior CVD 159/14.3%)). Patients with IS/CVD were significantly older versus others (IS/CVD: 68.3±12.2; IS/no CVD: 63.3±14.4; SM/CVD: 67.6±13.1; SM/no CVD: 52.4±17.9. p<0.0001). Vascular risk factors were significantly higher in patients with IS and SM with previous CVD. Functional recovery (90-day mRS 0–2) was significantly better in SM/no CVD (IS/CVD: 55.0%; IS/no CVD: 64.2%; SM/CVD 59.7%; SM/no CVD: 88.8%. p<0.001). MACE occurred in 36% (76/211) IS/CVD, 24.9% (105/422) IS/no CVD, 22.0% (35/179) SM/CVD and only 6.8% (22/322) SM/no CVD. MACE occurred mostly during the first year of follow-up. Mortality 90 days was significantly higher in IS/CVD (IS/CVD 36%; IS/no CVD 24.9%; SM/CVD: 22%; SM/no CVD: 6.8%. p<0.0001).ConclusionsPrior CVD significantly increases the risk of MACE and early mortality in IS or SM patients. Age, male gender, obesity, atrial fibrillation and admission National Institute of Health Stroke Scale also increases risk of MACE during follow-up. Hence, aggressive vascular risk factor modification is needed even in patients with SM.

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Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of reperfusion therapies on the occurrence of early post-stroke seizures (PSS) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS).Background: Reperfusion therapies are paramount to the treatment of stroke in the acute phase. However, their effect on the incidence of early seizures after an AIS remains unclear.Design and Methods: The stroke database at Hamad Medical Corporation was used to identify all patients who received reperfusion therapies for AIS from 2016 to 2019. They were matched with patients of similar diagnosis, gender, age, and stroke severity as measured by National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) who did not receive such treatment. The rates of early PSS were calculated for each group.Results: The results showed that 508 patients received reperfusion therapies (342 had IV thrombolysis only, 70 had thrombectomies only, and 96 had received both), compared with 501 matched patients receiving standard stroke unit care. Patients who received reperfusion therapies were similar to their matched controls for mean admission NIHSS score (9.87 vs. 9.79; p = 0.831), mean age (53.3 vs. 53.2 years; p = 0.849), and gender distribution (85 vs. 86% men; p = 0.655). The group receiving reperfusion therapies was found to have increased stroke cortical involvement (62 vs. 49.3%, p &lt; 0.001) and hemorrhagic transformation rates (33.5 vs. 18.6%, p &lt; 0.001) compared with the control group. The rate of early PSS was significantly lower in patients who received reperfusion therapies compared with those who did not (3.1 vs. 5.8%, respectively; p = 0.042). When we excluded seizures occurring at stroke onset prior to any potential treatment implementation, the difference in early PSS rates between the two groups was no longer significant (2.6 vs. 3.9%, respectively; p = 0.251). There was no significant difference in early PSS rate based on the type of reperfusion therapy either (3.2% with thrombolysis, 2.9% with thrombectomy, and 3.1% for the combined treatment, p = 0.309).Conclusions: Treatment of AIS with either thrombectomy, thrombolysis, or both does not increase the risk of early PSS.

The prevalence and incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM) are increasing worldwide. We aim to assess mortality and socio-economic outcomes among patients hospitalized for stroke and diabetes in the US and evaluate their recent trends. We examined: in-hospital mortality, length of stay (LoS), and overall hospital charges in diabetic patients over 18 years old who were hospitalized with a stroke from 2005 to 2014, included in the National Inpatient Sample. In those patients, the mean (SD) age slightly decreased from 70 (13) years to 69 (13) years (p-trend < 0.001). Interestingly, although incident cases of stroke amongst DM patients increased from 17.4 to 20.0 /100,000 US adults (p-trend < 0.001), age-adjusted mortality for those with hemorrhagic strokes decreased from 24.3% to 19.6%, and also decreased from 3.23% to 2.48% for those with ischemic strokes (p-trend < 0.01 for both), but remained unchanged in TIAs patients. As expected, the average total charges per hospital stay almost doubled over the ten-year period, increasing from 15 970 to 31 018 USD/stay (adjusted for inflation). Nonetheless, median (IQR) LoS slightly decreased from 4 (2–6) to 3 (2–6) days (p-trend < 0.001). In total, our data show that, from 2005 to 2014, the incidence of stroke among the diabetes patient population are gradually increasing, in-hospital mortality is steadily decreasing, along with average LoS. Admission costs were up almost twofold during the same period.

Objective: We describe border-zone territory infarctions without evident hypotension or vascular stenoses in a case of hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES). We review the spectrum of neurological changes associated with HES and explore about its relationship with the observed infarction pattern. Methods: This is a case report. A PubMed literature search was conducted searching clinico-radiographic findings of neurological complications associated with HES. Results: A previously healthy 47 year old man presented with progressive encephalopathy, weight loss and general malaise over three weeks. MRI head revealed bilateral hemispheric watershed infarcts at the junction of the anterior and posterior circulations. No intracranial or extracranial vascular stenoses were found and cardiac evaluation via transesophageal echocardiography, telemetry, and cardiac computed tomography (CT revealed no clear cardiac source of emboli. Persistently elevated eosinophil (>5,000/ μL) led to a bone marrow biopsy and diagnosis of eosinophilic leukemia with CHIC-2 mutation. Treatment with Imatinib and high dose prednisone was undertaken with significant clinical improvement. Conclusion: This case highlights a very rare cause of bilateral watershed cerebral infarction in non-hemodynamic stenoses. We hypothesize that the particular pattern of infarct observed in this setting may be explained on the basis of the lower capacity of hypoperfused vessel (borderzone) to eliminate emboli related to in situ-thrombosis from degranulation of eosinophils: "Impaired Wash-Out Theory".

Background The association of cardiac wall motion abnormalities (CWMAs) in patients with stroke who have major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to estimate the 50‐month risk of MACE, including stroke recurrence, acute coronary events, and vascular death in patients with stroke who have CWMAs. Methods and Results We performed a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected acute stroke data (acute stroke and transient ischemic attack) over 50 months by electronic medical records. Data included demographic and clinical information, vascular imaging, and echocardiography data including CWMAs and MACE. Of a total of 2653 patients with acute stroke/transient ischemic attack, CWMA was observed in 355 (13.4%). In patients with CWMAs, the embolic stroke of undetermined source (50.7%) was the most frequent index stroke subtype and stroke recurrences ( P =0.001). In multivariate Cox regression after adjustment for demographics, traditional risk, and confounding factors, CWMA was independently associated with a higher risk of MACE (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.74; 95% CI, 1.37–2.21 [ P =0.001]). Similarly, CWMA independently conferred an increased risk for ischemic stroke recurrence (adjusted HR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.01–2.17 [ P =0.04]), risk of acute coronary events (aHR, 2.50; 95% CI, 1.83–3.40 [ P =0.001]) and vascular death (adjusted HR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.04–2.40 [ P =0.03]), in comparison to the patients with stroke without CWMA. Conclusions In a multiethnic cohort of ischemic stroke with CWMA, CWMA was associated with 1.7‐fold higher risks of MACE independent of established risk factors. Embolic stroke of undetermined source was the most common stroke association with CWMA. Patients with stroke should be screened for CWMA to identify those at higher risk of MACE.

Introduction: Refractory large vessel occlusion in acute ischemic stroke carries high morbidity and mortality. Rescue stenting is an emerging modality that is increasingly utilized especially in East Asia. We aim to investigate the safety and efficacy of performing rescue stenting in acute stroke patients who had failed mechanical thrombectomy. Methods: This is a retrospective, all-inclusive, observational, descriptive review of the prospectively collected stroke database. Post stenting, an aggressive antiplatelet protocol was followed with glycoprotein IIb/IIIa infusion. Incidence of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), recanalization score and favorable prognosis (modified Rankin Score ≤3) at 90 days was used to determine primary outcome. Additionally, comparison was made between patients from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and others. Results: In total, 55 patients were included with 87.3% being male. Mean age was 51.3+11.8 years. This included 32 patients (58.3%) from South Asia, 12 (21.8%) from the MENA region, 9 (16.4%) from Southeast Asia and 2 (3.6%) from other parts of the world. Optimal recanalization (Thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (TICI) scale=2b-3) was achieved in 43 (78.2%); the incidence of symptomatic ICH was 2 (3.6%) and favorable outcome at 90 days was seen in 23 (41.8%). Apart from significantly older age, mean 62.8+13 years (median 69) vs. 48.1+9.3 (mean 49) and coronary artery disease burden 4 (33.3%) vs.1 (2.3%) (p<0.05). Patients from the MENA cohort had similar risk factor profiles, stroke severity, recanalization rates, ICH rates and 90-day outcomes compared to patients from South and Southeast Asia. Conclusion: Rescue stenting showed comparably good outcomes and low risk of clinically significant bleeding in a multiethnic cohort of patients from MENA and South and Southeast Asia.