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      Call for Papers: Extracellular Vesicles: Broadening Horizons in Neurodegenerative Diseases

      Submit here by September 30, 2025

      About Neurodegenerative Diseases: 1.9 Impact Factor I 5.9 CiteScore I 0.648 Scimago Journal & Country Rank (SJR)

      Call for Papers: Epidemiology of CKD and its Complications

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      Acute Stroke Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reduction in the Number of Admissions of Elderly Patients and Increase in Prehospital Delays

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          Abstract

          Introduction

          We analyzed whether the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis affected acute stroke care in our center during the first 2 months of lockdown in Spain.

          Methods

          This is a single-center, retrospective study. We collected demographic, clinical, and radiological data; time course; and treatment of patients meeting the stroke unit admission criteria from March 14 to May 14, 2020 (COVID-19 period group). Data were compared with the same period in 2019 (pre-COVID-19 period group).

          Results

          195 patients were analyzed; 83 in the COVID-19 period group, resulting in a 26% decline of acute strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) admitted to our center compared with the previous year ( p = 0.038). Ten patients (12%) tested positive for PCR SARS-CoV-2. The proportion of patients aged 65 years and over was lower in the COVID-19 period group (53 vs. 68.8%, p = 0.025). During the pandemic period, analyzed patients were more frequently smokers (27.7 vs. 10.7%, p = 0.002) and had less frequently history of prior stroke (13.3 vs. 25%, p = 0.043) or atrial fibrillation (9.6 vs. 25%, p = 0.006). ASPECTS score was lower (9 [7–10] vs. 10 [8–10], p = 0.032), NIHSS score was slightly higher (5 [2–14] vs. 4 [2–8], p = 0.122), onset-to-door time was higher (304 [93–760] vs. 197 [91.25–645] min, p = 0.104), and a lower proportion arrived within 4.5 h from onset of symptoms (43.4 vs. 58%, p = 0.043) during the CO­VID-19 period. There were no differences between proportion of patients receiving recanalization treatment (intravenous thrombolysis and/or mechanical thrombectomy) and in-hospital delays.

          Conclusion

          We observed a reduction in the number of acute strokes and TIAs admitted during the COVID-19 period. This drop affected especially elderly patients, and despite a delay in their arrival to the emergency department, the proportion of patients treated with recanalization therapies was preserved.

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          Detection of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by real-time RT-PCR

          Victor M Corman, Olfert Landt, Marco Kaiser … (2020)
          Background The ongoing outbreak of the recently emerged novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) poses a challenge for public health laboratories as virus isolates are unavailable while there is growing evidence that the outbreak is more widespread than initially thought, and international spread through travellers does already occur. Aim We aimed to develop and deploy robust diagnostic methodology for use in public health laboratory settings without having virus material available. Methods Here we present a validated diagnostic workflow for 2019-nCoV, its design relying on close genetic relatedness of 2019-nCoV with SARS coronavirus, making use of synthetic nucleic acid technology. Results The workflow reliably detects 2019-nCoV, and further discriminates 2019-nCoV from SARS-CoV. Through coordination between academic and public laboratories, we confirmed assay exclusivity based on 297 original clinical specimens containing a full spectrum of human respiratory viruses. Control material is made available through European Virus Archive – Global (EVAg), a European Union infrastructure project. Conclusion The present study demonstrates the enormous response capacity achieved through coordination of academic and public laboratories in national and European research networks.
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            Impact of the COVID-19 Epidemic on Stroke Care and Potential Solutions

            Jing Zhao, Hang Li, David Kung … (2020)
            Background and Purpose— When the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak became paramount, medical care for other devastating diseases was negatively impacted. In this study, we investigated the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on stroke care across China. Methods— Data from the Big Data Observatory Platform for Stroke of China consisting of 280 hospitals across China demonstrated a significant drop in the number of cases of thrombolysis and thrombectomy. We designed a survey to investigate the major changes during the COVID-19 outbreak and potential causes of these changes. The survey was distributed to the leaders of stroke centers in these 280 hospitals. Results— From the data of Big Data Observatory Platform for Stroke of China, the total number of thrombolysis and thrombectomy cases dropped 26.7% (P<0.0001) and 25.3% (P<0.0001), respectively, in February 2020 as compared with February 2019. We retrieved 227 valid complete datasets from the 280 stroke centers. Nearly 50% of these hospitals were designated hospitals for COVID-19. The capacity for stroke care was reduced in the majority of the hospitals. Most of the stroke centers stopped or reduced their efforts in stroke education for the public. Hospital admissions related to stroke dropped ≈40%; thrombolysis and thrombectomy cases dropped ≈25%, which is similar to the results from the Big Data Observatory Platform for Stroke of China as compared with the same period in 2019. Many factors contributed to the reduced admissions and prehospital delays; lack of stroke knowledge and proper transportation were significant limiting factors. Patients not coming to the hospital for fear of virus infection was also a likely key factor. Conclusions— The COVID-19 outbreak impacted stroke care significantly in China, including prehospital and in-hospital care, resulting in a significant drop in admissions, thrombolysis, and thrombectomy. Although many factors contributed, patients not coming to the hospital was probably the major limiting factor. Recommendations based on the data are provided.
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              Acute Stroke Care Is at Risk in the Era of COVID-19

              Salvatore Rudilosso, Carlos Laredo, Víctor Vera … (2020)
              Background and Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyze how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affected acute stroke care in a Comprehensive Stroke Center. Methods: On February 28, 2020, contingency plans were implemented at Hospital Clinic of Barcelona to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them, the decision to refrain from reallocating the Stroke Team and Stroke Unit to the care of patients with COVID-19. From March 1 to March 31, 2020, we measured the number of emergency calls to the Emergency Medical System in Catalonia (7.5 million inhabitants), and the Stroke Codes dispatched to Hospital Clinic of Barcelona. We recorded all stroke admissions, and the adequacy of acute care measures, including the number of thrombectomies, workflow metrics, angiographic results, and clinical outcomes. Data were compared with March 2019 using parametric or nonparametric methods as appropriate. Results: At Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, 1232 patients with COVID-19 were admitted in March 2020, demanding 60% of the hospital bed capacity. Relative to March 2019, the Emergency Medical System had a 330% mean increment in the number of calls (158 005 versus 679 569), but fewer Stroke Code activations (517 versus 426). Stroke admissions (108 versus 83) and the number of thrombectomies (21 versus 16) declined at Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, particularly after lockdown of the population. Younger age was found in stroke admissions during the pandemic (median [interquartile range] 69 [64–73] versus 75 [73–80] years, P=0.009). In-hospital, there were no differences in workflow metrics, angiographic results, complications, or outcomes at discharge. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic reduced by a quarter the stroke admissions and thrombectomies performed at a Comprehensive Stroke Center but did not affect the quality of care metrics. During the lockdown, there was an overload of emergency calls but fewer Stroke Code activations, particularly in elderly patients. Hospital contingency plans, patient transport systems, and population-targeted alerts must act concertedly to better protect the chain of stroke care in times of pandemic.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Cerebrovasc Dis
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Cerebrovasc Dis
                Journal ID (publisher-id): CED
                Title: Cerebrovascular Diseases (Basel, Switzerland)
                Publisher: S. Karger AG (Allschwilerstrasse 10, P.O. Box · Postfach · Case postale, CH–4009, Basel, Switzerland · Schweiz · Suisse, Phone: +41 61 306 11 11, Fax: +41 61 306 12 34, karger@karger.com )
                ISSN (Print): 1015-9770
                ISSN (Electronic): 1421-9786
                Publication date (Electronic): 17 March 2021
                Pages: 1-7
                Affiliations
                [1] aDepartment of Neurology, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
                [2] bDepartment of Neurology, Vascular Neurology Section − Stroke Center, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
                Author notes
                *Gabriel Velilla-Alonso, Department of Neurology, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Calle del Dr. Esquerdo, 46, ES–28007 Madrid (Spain), gabriel.velilla@ 123456salud.madrid.org
                Article
                Publisher ID: ced-0001
                DOI: 10.1159/000514140
                PMC ID: 8089401
                PubMed ID: 33730715
                SO-VID: 49eaccfc-9ebf-4c13-bf75-36fe312e7b97
                Copyright © Copyright © 2021 by S. Karger AG, Basel
                License:

                This article is made available via the PMC Open Access Subset for unrestricted re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic or until permissions are revoked in writing. Upon expiration of these permissions, PMC is granted a perpetual license to make this article available via PMC and Europe PMC, consistent with existing copyright protections.

                History
                Date received : 29 August 2020
                Date accepted : 22 December 2020
                Page count
                Figures: 1, Tables: 3, References: 17, Pages: 7
                Categories
                Subject: Clinical Research in Stroke

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Neurology
                Keywords: acute stroke,stroke care,coronavirus,coronavirus disease 2019,spain
                Data availability:
                ScienceOpen disciplines: Neurology
                Keywords: acute stroke, stroke care, coronavirus, coronavirus disease 2019, spain

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