COVID-19 and stroke in the latin american stroke registry (lase)

Background: Ischemic stroke has been reported to occur in approximately 5% of COVID-19 patients, although some reports are contradictory Proposed mechanisms of this association are hypercoagulable state, vasculitis and cardiomyopathy, together with traditional vascular risk factors We analyzed the frequency and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 positive stroke cases during the first months of the pandemic in Latin America Methods: A multinational study (7 countries, 18 centers) of patients admitted during the pandemic outbreak (March - June 2020) We assessed acute stroke cases associated to COVID-19 infection Clinical characteristics, stroke etiology and severity, acute care and functional outcomes, were compared between non-COVID-19 and COVID-19 cases Results: There were a total of 1037 stroke cases;sixty-two of them (6 0%) were diagnosed with COVID-19 infection This group consisted of 38 men [61 3%], with a median age of 68 years [IQR 59-79 years] From these cases, 80 6% were ischemic stroke, 16 1% hemorrhagic stroke, and 1 6% transient ischemic attack and cerebral venous thrombosis respectively The most common etiology reported for ischemic cases was atherosclerotic large vessel occlusion (30 6% vs 12 7% in non- COVID cases, p<0 001), and undetermined etiology for hemorrhagic stroke (55 6%) Median NIHSS for COVID-stroke patients was higher (7 IQR 2-16 vs 5 IQR 2-11, p=0 05) Five (8 1%) patients received acute reperfusion therapy, with no differences in door-to-CT, door-to-needle and door-togroin times, compared to non-COVID cases Most characteristics did not differ from those of COVID-19 negative patients Mortality was higher in COVID-stroke cases (20 9% vs 9 6%,p<0 001) Conclusions: COVID-19 infection frequency in stroke patients in Latin America is similar to thatreported in several series worldwide, with a higher frequency of atherosclerotic ischemic strokes andmortality compared to non COVID-19 strokes