COVID-19 and stroke, a case series and review of literature

Hisham Elkhider; Faisal Ibrahim; Rohan Sharma; Sen Sheng; Madhu Jasti; Mitesh Lotia; Nidhi Kapoor; Sanjeeva Onteddu; Sajjad Mueed; Hesham Allam; Krishna Nalleballe

doi:10.1016/j.bbih.2020.100172

COVID-19 and stroke, a case series and review of literature

Brain Behav Immun Health. 2020 Dec:9:100172. doi: 10.1016/j.bbih.2020.100172. Epub 2020 Nov 4.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA.
² Department of Neurology, Southern Illinois University, Springfield, IL, USA.
³ Department of Neurology, University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center, Glen Burnie, MD, USA.

Abstract

Background: Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases continue to increase around the World. Typical symptoms include fever and respiratory illness but a constellation of multisystem involvement including central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS) have been reported with COVID-19. Acute ischemic strokes (AIS) have also been reported as a complication.

Methodology: We analyzed patient characteristics, clinical outcomes, laboratory results and imaging results of four patients with COVID-19 who had AIS.

Results: All four patients were =< 60 years, had hypoxemic respiratory failure secondary to pneumonia, elevated D-dimer and inflammatory markers.

Conclusion: Ischemic strokes are known complications in patients with severe COVID-19.

Keywords: Covid-19; Stroke.