TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown measures on the local stroke network
AU - Brunetti, Valerio
AU - Broccolini, Aldobrando
AU - Caliandro, Pietro
AU - Di Iorio, Riccardo
AU - Monforte, Mauro
AU - Morosetti, Roberta
AU - Piano, Carla
AU - Pilato, Fabio
AU - Bellavia, Simone
AU - Marotta, Jessica
AU - Scala, Irene
AU - Pedicelli, Alessandro
AU - Pennisi, Mariano Alberto
AU - Caricato, Anselmo
AU - Roberti, Cinzia
AU - Altavista, Maria Concetta
AU - Valenza, Alessandro
AU - Distefano, Marisa
AU - Cecconi, Emanuela
AU - Fanella, Martina
AU - Roncacci, Sabina
AU - Tasillo, Miriam
AU - Calabresi, Paolo
AU - Frisullo, Giovanni
AU - Della Marca, Giacomo
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Introduction The COVID-19 outbreak highly impacted the acute ischemic stroke care management. The primary end point of the study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and the following lockdown measures on our hub-and-spoke network; the secondary end point was to evaluate if the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak was different in hub-and-spoke centers. Methods This was a retrospective multicenter observational study conducted at the Stroke Units of Policlinico Gemelli, Ospedale San Filippo Neri, Ospedale di Belcolle, and Ospedale San Camillo de Lellis. We collected clinical reports of all consecutive patients admitted with diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) during the phase 1 of the lockdown period (11 March 2020-4 May 2020). As controls, we used all consecutive patients admitted for acute ischemic stroke or TIA in the same period of the previous year. Results A total of 156 and 142 clinical reports were collected in 2019 and 2020, respectively. During the COVID-19 outbreak, we observed a reduction of number of thrombolysis, a reduction of the length of hospitalization, and an increase of pneumonia. Regarding performance indicators, we observed an increase in onset-to-door time and in door-to-groin time. We did not observe any statistically significant interaction between year (2019 vs 2020) and facility of admission (hub vs spoke) on all variables analyzed. Discussion Our observational study, involving hub-and-spoke stroke network of a wide regional area, indicates that the COVID-19 outbreak impacted on the acute stroke management. This impact was equally observed in hub as well as in spoke centers.
AB - Introduction The COVID-19 outbreak highly impacted the acute ischemic stroke care management. The primary end point of the study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and the following lockdown measures on our hub-and-spoke network; the secondary end point was to evaluate if the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak was different in hub-and-spoke centers. Methods This was a retrospective multicenter observational study conducted at the Stroke Units of Policlinico Gemelli, Ospedale San Filippo Neri, Ospedale di Belcolle, and Ospedale San Camillo de Lellis. We collected clinical reports of all consecutive patients admitted with diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) during the phase 1 of the lockdown period (11 March 2020-4 May 2020). As controls, we used all consecutive patients admitted for acute ischemic stroke or TIA in the same period of the previous year. Results A total of 156 and 142 clinical reports were collected in 2019 and 2020, respectively. During the COVID-19 outbreak, we observed a reduction of number of thrombolysis, a reduction of the length of hospitalization, and an increase of pneumonia. Regarding performance indicators, we observed an increase in onset-to-door time and in door-to-groin time. We did not observe any statistically significant interaction between year (2019 vs 2020) and facility of admission (hub vs spoke) on all variables analyzed. Discussion Our observational study, involving hub-and-spoke stroke network of a wide regional area, indicates that the COVID-19 outbreak impacted on the acute stroke management. This impact was equally observed in hub as well as in spoke centers.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Cerebrovascular disease
KW - Stroke
KW - Spoke
KW - Hub
KW - COVID-19
KW - Cerebrovascular disease
KW - Stroke
KW - Spoke
KW - Hub
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/263897
U2 - 10.1007/s10072-021-05045-0
DO - 10.1007/s10072-021-05045-0
M3 - Article
SN - 1590-3478
VL - 42
SP - 1237
EP - 1245
JO - Neurological Sciences
JF - Neurological Sciences
ER -