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THURSDAY, April 30, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Cases of large-vessel stroke in individuals younger than 50 years are described in patients with COVID-19 in a case report published online April 28 in the New England Journal of Medicine<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Thomas J. Oxley, M.D., from Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, and colleagues reported five cases of large-vessel stroke in patients younger than 50 years presenting to a New York City Health System. All five were diagnosed with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection.<\/p>\n
The researchers described one previously healthy 33-year-old woman who reported cough, headache, and chills lasting one week. During a period of 28 hours, she experienced progressive dysarthria with numbness and weakness in the left arm and left leg. Due to fear of COVID-19, she delayed seeking emergency care. She presented to the hospital with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of 19, and computed tomography revealed a partial infarction of the right middle cerebral artery. During a two-week period from March 23 to April 7, 2020, four additional patients younger than 50 years presented with new-onset symptoms of large-vessel ischemic stroke; all were positive for COVID-19. In comparison, during the previous 12 months, an average of 0.73 patients younger than 50 years of age presented with large-vessel stroke every two weeks. The mean NIHSS score was 17, which was consistent with severe large-vessel stroke.<\/p>\n
“Social distancing, isolation, and reluctance to present to the hospital may contribute to poor outcomes,” the authors write.<\/p>\n
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