{"id":635202,"date":"2026-10-03T13:12:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T13:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/635202\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T13:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T13:12:09","slug":"stroke-care-disruptions-during-covid-19-pandemic-emj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/635202\/","title":{"rendered":"Stroke Care Disruptions During COVID-19 Pandemic \u2013 EMJ"},"content":{"rendered":"

STROKE<\/a> care was significantly disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a scoping review that analysed 107 studies and highlighted widespread changes in healthcare utilisation, treatment delivery, and patient outcomes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The review examined evidence published between December 2019 and September 2024 and aimed to assess how the pandemic affected patients with stroke across the care continuum.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Changes in Patient Behaviour and Stroke Care Access\u00a0<\/p>\n

Researchers screened 1,405 studies and included 107 that met the eligibility criteria.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Analysis identified seven major subthemes affecting stroke care. These themes were grouped into patient conduct, stroke characteristics, and healthcare delivery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The review found that many patients delayed seeking care because of concerns about contracting COVID-19<\/a> in hospital settings and perceptions that healthcare services were overwhelmed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Delays were particularly evident among individuals with milder symptoms, often resulting in presentation outside critical treatment windows.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The rapid adoption of telemedicine helped maintain some continuity of care, particularly among younger patients, although lower utilisation among older adults highlighted persistent inequalities in access to remote services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stroke Care Delays Linked to Greater Severity\u00a0<\/p>\n

Several studies reported reductions in stroke admissions during the pandemic. One study found a 31% decrease in monthly ischaemic stroke admissions, while another reported a 44% decrease.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the same time, patients who presented to hospital frequently had more severe strokes than those seen before the pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Evidence suggested that delayed presentation, social isolation, and reluctance to seek emergency care contributed to more severe disease at admission.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The review also found poorer recovery outcomes among some patients.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In one study, disability at discharge was significantly higher during the pandemic, with a median modified Rankin Scale score of 4 versus 2 before the pandemic. These differences persisted at 3 months after stroke.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Healthcare Pressures Affect Quality of Care\u00a0<\/p>\n

Healthcare systems faced substantial strain during the pandemic, leading to resource reallocation, workforce shortages, and changes in stroke pathways.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Several studies linked these disruptions to poorer outcomes and increased mortality.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

One analysis reported higher mortality at discharge among patients treated during the pandemic compared with pre-pandemic cohorts, with mortality rates of 7.7% versus 2.5%, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The researchers concluded that future emergency preparedness efforts should prioritise adaptable stroke care systems, equitable telemedicine access, patient education, and strategies to minimise treatment delays during public health crises.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reference\u00a0<\/p>\n

M\u00e9nard A et al. Navigating stroke care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review. BMC Health Serv Res. 2026;DOI:10.1186\/s12913-026-15676-8.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STROKE care was significantly disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a scoping review that analysed 107 studies…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":635203,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[163,85,46],"class_list":["post-635202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-health","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=635202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/635203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=635202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=635202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}