Characteristics and Pathophysiological Mechanisms of Stroke in COVID-19 Patients

Objective: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-like coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-2). Although the respiratory system is mainly affected, multiple organ systems like the central nervous system (CNS) might be complicated by COVID-19. Stroke is one of the most common complications of COVID-19. In the literature, the symptoms and effects of COVID-19 on stroke have been reported but potential reasons and results remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to determine whether COVID-19 plays a role in stroke and affects the prevalence of stroke and mortality by investigating blood parameters, day of stroke after COVID-19, death status, and infarct volume. Methods: In this cross-sectional clinical research, 74 individuals participated. Twenty-two patients were COVID-19 cases without stroke; thirty participants were patients with COVID-19 and stroke, while twenty-two were cases of non-COVID-19 and stroke. Data were collected from a single center, Basaksehir Cam and Sakura City Hospital and were presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD). Results: There was a statistically significant relationship among the age, D-dimer, INR, and lymphocyte values of the living group compared to those of the exitus group. The association between death and COVID-19 status was found to be statistically significant, indicating that the number of deaths in the COVID-19 and stroke group was higher than in the only stroke group (i.e., non-COVID-19 cases). No statistically significant relationship was observed between the alive and exitus groups in terms of the volume of infarction. Conclusions: This study comprehensively evaluated the relationship between COVID-19, stroke, and mortality. Given the relatively limited number of cases in this study, further investigation is needed to elucidate the connection among COVID-19, neurological complications of the disease, and mortality. In the meantime, the results of this study contribute to the understanding of the relationship between COVID-19, neurological complications, and mortality, providing additional valuable data to the existing literature.