Abstract P97: Changes in Stroke Patient’s Health-Seeking Behavior by Covid-19 Epidemic Regions: Data From Korean Stroke Registry

Abstract

Background and purpose: With the wide spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) around the world, not only patients with COVID-19, but also patients with other disease such as stroke have undergone many changes in their health-seeking behavior. Between late February and March 2020, COVID-19 was epidemic in the community of Daegu city and Gyeongsangbuk-do region (D-G region) in Korea. We aimed to clarify the changes in the health-seeking behaviors of stroke patients and stroke care services by region in Korea through analysis of data from Korean Stroke Registry (KSR). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data with acute stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients between 2019 and 2020. We compared the stroke onset to hospital arrival (onset-to-door) time of these patients in the D-G region and other regions in Korea during the epidemic period in 2020 (post-COVID-19: February 18-March 31, 2020) and the same period in 2019 (Pre-COVID-19). In addition, we investigated the in-hospital stroke pathways with the patients. Results: 1,792 patients in pre-COVID-19 and 1,555 patients in post-COVID-19 who visited KSR-registered hospitals were analyzed. Compared to pre-COVID-19, the number of patients registered in KSR decreased in most regions in post-COVID-19. In the D-G region, the number of registered patients decreased by two thirds, and the proportion of patients with TIA decreased significantly. (9.97% to 2.91%). Unlike other regions, the median onset-to-door time increased significantly in the D-G region (361 versus 526.5 minutes, p=0.0084). The proportion of patients with onset-to-door time within 3 hours also decreased significantly (36.45% versus 28.16%, p=0.0485). Patients in their 60s and 70s and mild symptoms (NIHSS score 0 to 3) came to the hospital later. As a result, the patients who underwent thrombectomy also decreased, but the treatment time did not differ between the two periods. Conclusion: During the epidemic of COVID-19, the patients residing in the epicenter showed distinct changes in health-seeking behavior. Appropriate public education about stroke is needed during the COVID-19 pandemic.