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: 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 (MT), stroke, and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) hospitalizations over a 3-month period at the height of the pandemic (March 1 to May 31, 2020) compared with two control 3-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, ICH, and MT were 26,699, 4,002, and 5,191 in the 3 months immediately before versus 21,576, 3,540, and 4,533 during the first 3 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/MT centers. High-volume COVID-19 centers (-20.5%) had greater declines in MT 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, MT procedures, and ICH admission volumes. Despite geographic variations, these volume reductions were observed regardless of COVID-19 hospitalization burden and pre-pandemic stroke/MT volumes.

The laminin‐5 γ2 chain plays an important role in cell migration during tumour inva‐sion and tissue remodelling. Laminin‐5 γ2 chain expression in squamous cell carcino‐mas of the tongue in 67 patients with Stage II, III or IVA,B (excluding the cases with distant metastasis) was examined immuno‐histochemically to determine its associa‐tions with the clinicopathological features of each tumour. The predominant staining patterns were categorised as follows: A, few or no tumour cells were positive; B, part of the tumour nest periphery was positive; C, the tumour nest periphery was circumferentially positive; or D, almost all the tumour cells were positive. Laminin‐5 γ2 chain expression was observed clearly in tumour cell cytoplasm. Of the 67 tumours examined, 6(9%), 31 (46%), 19 (28%) and 11 (17%) showed staining patterns A, B, C and D, respectively. With progression from staining pattern A to D, the number of immunopositive tumour cells increased significantly (P<0.0001), and the tumour histology showed significantly more infiltrative growth (P<0.0001) and poorer differentiation (P=0.0021). Furthermore, both univariate (P=0.0019) and multivariate (P=0.0003; hazard ratio=3.132) analyses of the patients’ survival revealed that the prognosis became significantly poorer with progression from staining pattern A to D. Increased laminin‐5 γ2 chain immunore‐activity, which may reflect a high invasive potential of cancer cells, is a factor indica‐tive of a poor prognosis for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Henk Tideman

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Although the SUVmax of each disease overlapped, PET/CT findings provided useful information for the differential diagnosis of anterior mediastinal masses.