Efectos de la pandemia por COVID-19 con relación al ACV isquémico. ¿La pandemia realmente lo cambió todo? Un estudio comparativo pre-post COVID-19 con revisión de la literatura

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Ischemic stroke is the third leading cause of death and the first cause of disability in the world. Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has generated changes in daily medical practice, as well as an impact on access to health centers. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of admissions, consultation time and treatment rates of stroke in our center. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Descriptive and retrospective study, with 115 patients between March 2019 and March 2021. Clinical characteristics, admissions time, severity and treatment rates pre-pandemic and during the same were compared. RESULTS: Both groups presented mild events (71% vs. 59%, P > .05). There was an increase in the time from consultation to initiation of thrombolysis therapy during the pandemic (median 2.1 vs. 3.5 h, P = .02). No significant differences were observed in reperfusion rates, consultation time and door-to-needle time. CONCLUSION: In our study, a significant difference was observed between the time of symptom onset and treatment with thrombolysis during the pandemic. On the other hand, no significant differences were observed in relation to the number of admissions, consultation time and door-to-needle time or treatment rate of patients with stroke during the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe that this work can provide an approach to epidemiology in the private regional setting and a potential basis for further analysis of the collateral damage and long-term consequences generated by the COVID-19 pandemic.