ArticleStroke2021
Stroke Care in the United Kingdom During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Article in Stroke, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- Measuring hospital care resilience: a systematic literature review.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026Pooled it
- Intracranial hemorrhages in patients with COVID-19: a systematic review of the literature, regarding six cases in an Amazonian population.Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria · 2023Pooled it
- Stroke risk in younger age groups is increasing and requires targeted prevention.PLoS medicine · 2026Article
- Changes in Healthcare Utilization Patterns and Outcomes for an Acute Cerebrovascular Events Medicare Cohort: 2018-2022.Neuroepidemiology · 2026Article
- Help-seeking and access to care for stroke and heart attack during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study.Sociology of health & illness · 2025Article
- Changes in inpatient and outpatient stroke admissions during COVID-19: a difference-in-differences analysis based on claims data from 242 acute care hospitals in Japan.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Stroke care in the United Kingdom before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdowns: A retrospective nationwide cohort study.PloS one · 2025Article
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- Stroke but no hospital admission: Lost opportunity for whom?PloS one · 2024Article
- Stroke Care Pathway ensures high-quality stroke management in the COVID-19 pandemic.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Decline in spontaneous cervical artery dissection incidence during COVID-19 public health measures: Evidence for a role of upper respiratory infections in pathogenesis.International journal of stroke : official journal of the International Stroke Society · 2023Article
- Quality in stroke care during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic: A nationwide study.European stroke journal · 2023Article
- Mechanical Thrombectomy in Acute Ischemic Stroke COVID-19 and Non-COVID-19 Patients: A Single Comprehensive Stroke Center Study.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Introducing the Tele-OCS: Preliminary evidence of validity for a remotely administered version of The Oxford Cognitive Screen.Health open research · 2023Article
- The diversity of skills that are needed in different environments.Frontiers in surgery · 2023Article
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- Validation of the UK English Oxford cognitive screen-plus in sub-acute and chronic stroke survivors.European stroke journal · 2022Article
- Maintained acute stroke admission during the first wave COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden, a register-based study.Journal of stroke and cerebrovascular diseases : the official journal of National Stroke Association · 2022Article
- Association of COVID-19 With Major Arterial and Venous Thrombotic Diseases: A Population-Wide Cohort Study of 48 Million Adults in England and Wales.Circulation · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
background and purposeThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has potentially caused indirect harm to patients with other conditions via reduced access to health care services. We aimed to describe the impact of the initial wave of the pandemic on admissions, care quality, and outcomes in patients with acute stroke in the United Kingdom.
methodsRegistry-based cohort study of patients with acute stroke admitted to hospital in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland between October 1, 2019, and April 30, 2020, and equivalent periods in the 3 prior years.
resultsOne hundred fourteen hospitals provided data for a study cohort of 184 017 patients. During the lockdown period (March 23 to April 30), there was a 12% reduction (6923 versus 7902) in the number of admissions compared with the same period in the 3 previous years. Admissions fell more for ischemic than hemorrhagic stroke, for older patients, and for patients with less severe strokes. Quality of care was preserved for all measures and in some domains improved during lockdown (direct access to stroke unit care, 1-hour brain imaging, and swallow screening). Although there was no change in the proportion of patients discharged with good outcome (modified Rankin Scale score, ≤2; 48% versus 48%), 7-day inpatient case fatality increased from 6.9% to 9.4% (
conclusionsAssuming that the true incidence of acute stroke did not change markedly during the pandemic, hospital avoidance may have created a cohort of untreated stroke patients at risk of poorer outcomes or recurrent events. Unanticipated improvements in stroke care quality should be used as an opportunity for quality improvement and to learn about how to develop resilient health care systems.
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Registered trials
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