Abstract WP260: Higher Incidence of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis Seen During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights From the National Inpatient Sample

Abstract

Background: Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is associated with significant risk of death and disability. Prior research has found patients with COVID-19 had higher incidences of system venous and arterial thrombosis, however, there has been little research into its impact on incidence of CVT. Objective: Determine whether the incidence of CVT was higher during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study utilizing data from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) was performed. Adult patients in 2018 (n=6,051,974) were compared to those in 2020 (n=5,470,813), the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. To prevent potential confounding by undiagnosed COVID-19, patients in 2019 were not utilized in the analysis. ICD-10 codes were utilized to identify patients with CVT along with additional diagnoses, including COVID-19 infection. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated and compared using t-tests. Rates of CVT were also calculated. Results: There were 731 (weighted estimate for the US population n=3,655, rate of 13.4 cases per 100,000 admissions) patients with CVT in 2020, compared to 641 patients in 2018 (weighted n=3,205, rate of 10.6 per 100,000 admissions; p-value 0.003; cOR=1.26, 95% CI=1.08-1.47). Female patients had a higher incidence of CVT in both years (58.6% versus 62.5%) with no significant between year difference. No age or race difference was identified. Hospital mortality rate among CVT patients admitted in 2020 was 5%. Twelve patients were diagnosed with concurrent COVID-19 infections. Length of stay among CVT patients admitted in 2018 and 2020 was similar (7.89 versus 8.06 days). However, CVT patients with concurrent COVID-19 had a longer hospital stay than those without COVID-19 (18 versus 8 days; p-value<0.001). Conclusions: There was a significantly higher incidence of CVT among hospitalized patients during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 2018. This finding is consistent with the previously described higher rates of thrombotic disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic and should prompt further study.