Title : Intracerebral hemorrhage and COVID-19 infection: clinical characteristics and mortality from intensive care patients: Retrospective cohort review
Abstract:
Background:
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many studies have reported severe neurologic effects of the infection on the brain. Intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) is a particular pathology that can result in these devastating neurologic effects and affected patients are more likely to require intensive care (ICU) and mechanical ventilation.
Objective:
The primary aim of our study is to investigate the possible difference in the clinical and laboratory characteristics of ICH between patients with positive COVID-19 tests and those with negative tests. The potential effect of this difference on the prognosis of the patients during their stay in the ICU is a secondary aim of the study.
Methods:
In this retrospective cohort review, our data were collected from the electronic medical database of the Benghazi Medical Centre (BMC) for the period from January 2021 to June 2022. We depended mainly on the admission paper information documented by emergency doctors, and mortality was measured depending on the clinical status after discharge from the ICU. The main enrolment strategy of the study patients was their diagnosis with ICH either before or during their stay in the ICU.
Results:
The difference between groups was significant in ICH score ³ 3 (higher in positive patients), INR (lower in positive patients), platelets (lower in positive patients), ventilation risk (higher in positive patients), the incidence of new-onset hypertension (higher in positive patients), location of hematoma (infratentorial in positive patients), and IVH extension (more in positive patients).
Conclusion:
The current study demonstrates the significant association between COVID-19 infection and ICH, possibly through changing some of the critical baseline characteristics that influence the formation and prognosis of ICH in intensive care patients.
Audience Take Away
- This study aims for the first time to establish the possible association between COVID-19 and Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ICH); the message this study tries to convey to the interested audience is the observed difference in the clinical characteristics after COVID-19 and the potential effect of this on mortality after the infection
- The audience can use the data in this study as reference data to further investigate this association and its possible effect on the prognostic score of the ICH and the treatment protocol for the affected intensive care patients
- Additionally, this study will help physicians in neurocritical care to pay much attention to ICH patients with positive COVID-19 infection, as these patients have different laboratory and baseline characteristics that require a different type of management protocol
