Abstract Number ‐ 272: Effect of the Time between Thrombolysis and Mechanical Thrombectomy on Outcomes of Stroke

Introduction Administration of intravenous thrombolytics (IVT) within 4.5 hoursof symptoms onset, prior to performing mechanical thrombectomy(MT) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) secondary tolarge vessel occlusion (LVO) is thoroughly studied and hassuggested to improve reperfusion rates and clinical outcomes. [1,2] The outcomes of combined IVT and MT in STEMI patientshavebeen studied comprehensively and revealed worsening clinicaloutcomes when a shorter Lapse of Time (LoT) isintroduced.[3,4]Those studies stemmed the question of whetherLoTbetween IVT and MT in AIS patients has any significance. We investigated the effects of theLoTbetween IVT and MT onoutcomes of MT revascularization, as well as on the functionaloutcomes in patient with AIS with LVO. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis ofgathereddataduring a 6‐year period (2016‐2021) for all ourpatients with AIS and LVO who received both IVT and MT. We analyzed the MT revascularization outcomes using thethrombolysis in cerebral infarction(TICI)scale, as well as thestroke functional outcomes using the modified Rankin Scale(mRS)at discharge and 90 days to detectany significant differencesin positive or negative direction.LoT was measured as minutes from tPA administration and reperfusion on a continuous scale. Nonparametric tests (Kruskal‐Wallis analysis of variance on ranks, K‐W H) were used to determine if there were differences between mRS at discharge and at 90 days (as an ordinal variable, possible score 0–6) based on LoT. Results A total of 48 patients who received both IVT and MT were includedin the study.Those included were primarilyBlack (57.1%) and male(59.2%). Mean age was62.5 years (sd = 15.5, range 21–89 years).Median minutes between tPA and reperfusion was 74 minutes (min‐max = 44‐143 minutes). There were no significant differences betweenmRSatdischarge (K‐W H = 5.13, p = 0.40), nor at 90 days (K‐W H = 8.71, p = 0.19) as a function of theLoTbetween IVT and MT. There were no significant differences between TICI scores, as afunction of theLoTbetween IVT and MT, (K‐W H = 5.49,p = 0.14). Conclusions In this study we compared the impact of the time differencebetween IVT and MT on revascularization and functionaloutcome in patients with AIS and LVO.Unlike the findings in STEMI, we did not detect any significant outcomedifferences in MT results (TICI scale) and functional outcomes(mRSat discharge and 90 days), when IVT was given at differentLoTbeforeMT

Global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on subarachnoid haemorrhage hospitalisations, aneurysm treatment and in-hospital mortality: 1-year follow-up

Background: Prior studies indicated a decrease in the incidences of aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH) during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated differences in the incidence, severity of aSAH presentation, and ruptured aneurysm treatment modality during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the preceding year. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study including 49 countries and 187 centres. We recorded volumes for COVID-19 hospitalisations, aSAH hospitalisations, Hunt-Hess grade, coiling, clipping and aSAH in-hospital mortality. Diagnoses were identified by International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, codes or stroke databases from January 2019 to May 2021. Results: Over the study period, there were 16 247 aSAH admissions, 344 491 COVID-19 admissions, 8300 ruptured aneurysm coiling and 4240 ruptured aneurysm clipping procedures. Declines were observed in aSAH admissions (-6.4% (95% CI -7.0% to -5.8%), p=0.0001) during the first year of the pandemic compared with the prior year, most pronounced in high-volume SAH and high-volume COVID-19 hospitals. There was a trend towards a decline in mild and moderate presentations of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) (mild: -5% (95% CI -5.9% to -4.3%), p=0.06; moderate: -8.3% (95% CI -10.2% to -6.7%), p=0.06) but no difference in higher SAH severity. The ruptured aneurysm clipping rate remained unchanged (30.7% vs 31.2%, p=0.58), whereas ruptured aneurysm coiling increased (53.97% vs 56.5%, p=0.009). There was no difference in aSAH in-hospital mortality rate (19.1% vs 20.1%, p=0.12). Conclusion: During the first year of the pandemic, there was a decrease in aSAH admissions volume, driven by a decrease in mild to moderate presentation of aSAH. There was an increase in the ruptured aneurysm coiling rate but neither change in the ruptured aneurysm clipping rate nor change in aSAH in-hospital mortality

Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stroke Volumes and Cerebrovascular Events: One-Year Follow-up.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Declines in stroke admission, intravenous thrombolysis, and mechanical thrombectomy volumes were reported during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a paucity of data on the longer-term effect of the pandemic on stroke volumes over the course of a year and through the second wave of the pandemic. We sought to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volumes of stroke admissions, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), intravenous thrombolysis (IVT), and mechanical thrombectomy over a one-year period at the onset of the pandemic (March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021) compared with the immediately preceding year (March 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020). METHODS We conducted a longitudinal retrospective study across 6 continents, 56 countries, and 275 stroke centers. We collected volume data for COVID-19 admissions and 4 stroke metrics: ischemic stroke admissions, ICH admissions, intravenous thrombolysis treatments, and mechanical thrombectomy procedures. Diagnoses were identified by their ICD-10 codes or classifications in stroke databases. RESULTS There were 148,895 stroke admissions in the one-year immediately before compared to 138,453 admissions during the one-year pandemic, representing a 7% decline (95% confidence interval [95% CI 7.1, 6.9]; p<0.0001). ICH volumes declined from 29,585 to 28,156 (4.8%, [5.1, 4.6]; p<0.0001) and IVT volume from 24,584 to 23,077 (6.1%, [6.4, 5.8]; p<0.0001). Larger declines were observed at high volume compared to low volume centers (all p<0.0001). There was no significant change in mechanical thrombectomy volumes (0.7%, [0.6,0.9]; p=0.49). Stroke was diagnosed in 1.3% [1.31,1.38] of 406,792 COVID-19 hospitalizations. SARS-CoV-2 infection was present in 2.9% ([2.82,2.97], 5,656/195,539) of all stroke hospitalizations. DISCUSSION There was a global decline and shift to lower volume centers of stroke admission volumes, ICH volumes, and IVT volumes during the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the prior year. Mechanical thrombectomy volumes were preserved. These results suggest preservation in the stroke care of higher severity of disease through the first pandemic year. TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION This study is registered under NCT04934020