Introduction The 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. Aims In this study, we aim to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stroke admissions to a tertiary care centre in Qatar. Methods The 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). Results We 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. Conclusions The 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.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 大流行对卡塔尔中风入院的影响

简介 由于急性冠状动脉综合征和中风，COVID-19 大流行导致住院人数出现无法解释的急剧下降。已经出现了几种旨在解释这种下降的理论，主要是围绕着对感染疾病的恐惧，从而避免去医院就诊。目的 在这项研究中，我们旨在研究 COVID-19 大流行对卡塔尔三级护理中心的卒中入院率的影响。方法 询问哈马德综合医院卒中数据库，了解 2019 年 9 月至 2020 年 5 月期间的卒中入院情况。比较“COVID-19 之前”时期（2019 年 9 月至 2020 年 2 月）的卒中入院人数、卒中亚型和短期结局) 和 COVID-19 大流行期（2020 年 3 月至 5 月）。结果我们观察到 3 月份的月入学人数显着下降 (157)，4 月 (128) 和 5 月 (135) 与 COVID-19 之前的 6 个月平均值 (229) 相比 (p=0.024)。入院率的减少在功能性中风模拟中最为明显。平均入院人数从每月 87 人减少到 34 人（p=0.0001）。尽管由于缺血性中风 (IS)、颅内出血或短暂性脑缺血发作在两个时期之间入院率没有显着差异，但我们注意到由于小血管疾病导致的 IS 相对减少，而由于大血管动脉粥样硬化导致的 IS 相对增加2020 年 3 月至 2020 年 5 月。结论 COVID-19 大流行期间中风入院人数的下降很可能与对感染感染的担忧有关，主要表现为中风模仿者入院人数的下降。然而，