Acute Stroke Care during COVID-19: National Data

Abstract

(1) Background: The pandemic of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdown strategies had a profound impact on many aspects of everyday life. During this time the world faced the unprecedented crisis of healthcare disrupting timely care delivery. This study was designed to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on the acute treatment of stroke in Poland. (2) Methods: The national data on hospitalizations with stroke as a primary diagnosis were obtained from the National Health Fund of Poland. Poisson regression was used to determine the significance of the change in hospital admissions. The differences between proportions were analyzed using the “N-1” Chi-squared test. (3) Results: During the COVID-19 period, the number of hospitalizations dropped by 8.28% with a monthly nadir of 22.02 in April. On a monthly scale during 2020, the greatest decrease was 22.02%. The thrombolysis ratio was also affected, with the highest monthly drop of 15.51% in November. The overall number of in-hospital deaths did not change. (4) Conclusions: The pandemic caused a serious disruption of the acute care of stroke. There is no evidence that the quality of care was seriously compromised.

The Increased Mortality Rate with Lower Incidence of Traumatic Brain Injury during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Study

“…The epidemiology of other neurologic conditions, such as stroke, were also affected. During the COVID-19 period, the overall number of hospitalizations due to stroke in Poland dropped by 8.28% compared with the corresponding period of 2019 [ 26 ]. Other authors reported similar findings, with the highest drop of 39.52% during the critical period recorded in Spain [ 27 ].…”

Impact of JSS-PCS on the In-Hospital Workflow and Outcomes of Reperfusion Therapy for Acute Ischemic Stroke: Cases of a Metropolitan Secondary Emergency Facility

“…Decreased admission numbers to stroke units have been reported in multiple countries and institutions. [6][7][8] Regarding reperfusion therapy for AIS, the number of patients with IVT 7) or MT 9) has been reported to have decreased. One of the biggest concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic is its adverse effect on in-hospital time indicators such as DTN, DTP, and DTR.…”

Assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the level of health care services in Poland - a review

“…Spośród odnalezionych badań 10 prac dotyczy diagnostyki i/lub leczenia chorób układu krążenia [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]. Ich zakres jest różnorodny.…”

“…W pracy tej wykazano jednak, że liczba zabiegów elektroterapii serca i procedur elektrofizjologicznych spadła istotnie w kwietniu 2020 roku, co nadrobiono w kolejnych miesiącach tego roku [31]. Inne badania potwierdzają te wyniki, wskazując kwiecień 2020 roku jako okres o największym ograniczeniu liczby wykonywanych świadczeń zdrowotnych [35]. W odnalezionych badaniach wskazuje się również na konieczność oceny długoterminowych konsekwencji pandemii COVID-19 [37] (tab.…”