Background

There was a significant decrease in stroke admissions during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are concerns that stroke patients have not sought medical attention and in the months after the lockdown suffer recurrent severe strokes. The aims of this study were to investigate how stroke admission rates and distributions of severity varied before, during and after the lockdown in a representative Norwegian hospital population.

Methods

All patients discharged from Akershus University Hospital with a diagnosis of transient ischemic attack (TIA) or acute stroke from January to September 2020 were identified by hospital chart review.

Results

We observed a transient decrease in weekly stroke admissions during lockdown from an average of 21.4 (SD 4.7) before to 15.0 (SD 4.2) during and 17.2 (SD 3.3) after (p < 0.011). The proportion of mild ischemic and haemorrhagic strokes was also lower during lockdown with 66% before, 57% during and 68% after (p = 0.011).

Conclusion

The period of COVID-19 lockdown was associated with a temporary reduction in total admissions of strokes. In particular, there were fewer with TIA and mild stroke. Given the need to prevent the worsening of symptoms and risk of recurrence, it is necessary to emphasise the importance to seek medical care even in states of emergency.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19大流行第一阶段之前，之中和之后的中风入院率

背景

在COVID-19大流行的第一阶段，中风的住院人数显着减少。人们担心中风患者没有寻求医疗救助，并且在锁定后的几个月中反复发作严重中风。这项研究的目的是调查在有代表性的挪威医院人群中，中风住院率和严重程度分布在锁定之前，期间和之后如何变化。

方法

通过医院病历表审查，确定了2020年1月至2020年9月从阿克斯胡斯大学医院出院的所有诊断为短暂性脑缺血发作（TIA）或急性中风的患者。

结果

我们观察到，锁定期间每周中风的入院率从之前的平均21.4（SD 4.7）下降到期间的15.0（SD 4.2）和之后的17.2（SD 3.3）（p  <0.011）。锁定期间轻度缺血性和出血性卒中的比例也较低，分别为66％，57％和68％（p  = 0.011）。

结论

COVID-19锁定期与中风总入院数暂时减少有关。特别是，TIA和轻度中风的发生率更低。鉴于需要防止症状恶化和复发风险，即使在紧急状态下也必须强调寻求医疗护理的重要性。