Investigating the frequency of stroke in sars-cov-2 cases in Sakarya city, Turkey

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study is to identify the frequency of stroke among severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) cases in Sakarya city, to find out the clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed with stroke and to contribute to the national database. Material and Methods: This retrospective study was carried out with 783 cases diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 between April-June 2020 at the pandemic hospital in Sakarya city. Patients were compared in terms of age, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), risk factors, radiological findings, inpatient treatment, intubation, and mortality rates. Results: Out of 26 cases of ischemic stroke, 11 (42.3%) were male and 15 (57.7%) were female. In terms of infarction localization, the cause was medial cerebral artery (MCA) in 4 (15.4%) patients, top of the basilar in 2 (7.7%) patients, basilar artery in 1 (3.8%) patient, lacunar in 9 (34.6%) patients and anterior system in 10 (38.5%) patients. There was no significant difference in terms of D-dimer and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels according to disease severity (both p=0.262). Three (0.38%) patients presented with stroke findings and were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2. Cryptogenic stroke was detected in 8 (30.8%) of the SARS-CoV-2 cases. Stroke frequency was calculated as 3.3% among the SARS-CoV-2 cases in Sakarya city. Conclusion: This is the first study to identify the frequency of stroke among SARS-CoV-2 patients in Sakarya city and Turkey. Our study is important as it shows that preventing or treating ischemic stroke in SARS-CoV-2 cases contributes greatly to the reduction of mortality.