A new study has found that coronavirus patients who suffer hemorrhagic strokes are up to 2.8 times more likely to die compared to stroke patients without the virus. The research, published in PLOS One, analysed data from 568 hospitals across the United States.
Researchers compared over 23,000 patients admitted in 2019 with hemorrhagic stroke but no COVID-19 to more than 770 patients admitted in 2020 with both conditions. Among those with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), 46% of COVID-19 patients died versus 18% of non-COVID patients. For subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), 43% of coronavirus patients died compared to 15% of non-COVID patients.
COVID-19 patients also had longer hospital stays and more complications. ICH patients with the virus spent an average of 16 days in intensive care and 21 days in hospital, compared to six and 10 days respectively for non-COVID patients. Only one in five COVID stroke patients were discharged home or to rehabilitation, versus half of non-COVID patients.
Senior author Dr Adam de Havenon, assistant professor of neurology at University of Utah Health, said: 'This is one of the first studies to document that, in patients with hemorrhagic stroke who have comorbid COVID-19, there is a significantly elevated risk of in-hospital death.' He added that the findings warrant additional study and potentially more aggressive treatment for either condition.
