Acute ischemic stroke as a major neurologic complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the reason for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was first diagnosed in Wuhan, China. COVID-19 has since led to a worldwide pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 infection increases the risk of thrombotic events, including ischemic strokes. There are limited data on ischemic stroke associated with COVID-19. The aim of our study was to determine the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on ischemic stroke. A total of 248 ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients hospitalized in our neurology intensive care and stroke units between March 2020 and January 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Two hundred and five stroke patients were diagnosed with COVID-19negative strokes. COVID-19-positive patients were first isolated from the relevant units, and neurological follow-up was performed. Forty-three patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19-related ischemic stroke and survived at the end of the isolation period were transferred and followed up in the neurology intensive care and stroke unit. Stroke classifications, vascular risk factors, clinical course, disease severity, laboratory parameters, recanalization treatment results, and mortality rates of ischemic strokes in patients with positive or negative COVID-19 infection were evaluated. COVID19-positive and COVID-19-negative stroke patients had similar characteristics of age, gender, vascular risk factors and stroke subtype. Cryptogenic stroke was the most common type of stroke in both groups. TIA and small vessel diseases were detected only in the COVID-19-negative group. COVID-19-positive stroke patients had lower lymphocyte counts and higher procalcitonin, troponin and fibrinogen levels. Ischemic strokes had similar clinical characteristics and did not show a different course or prognosis in COVID-19-positive and COVID-19-negative stroke patients.