Search

Objectives: Stroke represents a health care challenge to most parts of the world including the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The MENA represents 6% of the world population with an age-standardized stroke rate of 87.7 (78.2-97.6) per 100,000 population. This number is subject to increase given that the cause of morbidity has recently shifted from infectious diseases to non-communicable diseases. Thus, in the coming years, treatment of stroke will pose a major burden on MENA countries which mostly lie in the low to middle income economies. Accordingly, we need to study the state of MENA stroke services in order to recognize and further inform policy makers about any gaps that need to be bridged in this domain., Methods and Results: Stroke specialists representing 16 countries filled an online survey that included: screening for risk factors, acute management, diagnostics, medications, post-discharge services, and stroke registries. Results showed that 11 countries screen for risk factors, 16 have neuroimaging studies, 15 provide intravenous thrombolysis (IVT), 13 mechanical thrombectomy (MT) while medications for secondary prevention are available in all countries. However, stroke units are not equally available and even absent in 4 countries, and despite the availability of IVT yet, the rate of administration is still low in 6 countries (<5%), and ranges from 5-20% in 7 countries. Stroke registries and training still need to be implemented in most countries., Conclusion: Although imaging, revascularization therapies and medications for secondary prevention are available in most MENA countries, yet the rate of revascularization is low, so is the number of stroke units insufficient in some countries. Additionally, registries and structured training are still defective. Further field studies are required for more accurate determination of the status of stroke services in the MENA region., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Aref et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: It is not clear whether conventional vascular risk factors are responsible for most strokes in patients younger than 45 years of age. Our objective was to evaluate the association of common risk factors with stroke in individuals under 45 years., Methods: INTERSTROKE was a case-control study carried out in 32 countries between 2007 and 2015. Patients presenting within 5 days of symptom onset of a first stroke were enrolled as cases. Controls were age and sex matched to cases and had no history of stroke. Cases and controls underwent similar evaluations. Odds ratios (ORs) and population attributable risks (PARs) were calculated to determine the association of various risk factors with all stroke, ischemic stroke, and intracranial hemorrhage, for patients 45 years of age or younger., Findings: 1,582 case-control pairs were included in this analysis. The mean age of this cohort was 38.5 years (SD 6.32). Overall, 71% strokes were ischemic. Cardiac causes {OR: 8.42 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.01-23.5)}; binge drinking of alcohol (OR: 5.44 [95% CI: 1.81-16.4]); hypertension (OR: 5.41 [95% CI: 3.40-8.58]); ApoB/ApoA1 ratio (OR: 2.74 [95% CI: 1.69-4.46]); psychosocial stress (OR: 2.33 [95% CI: 1.01-5.41]); smoking (OR: 1.85 [95% CI: 1.17-2.94]); and increased waist-to-hip ratio (OR: 1.69 [95% CI: 1.04-2.75]) were the most important risk factors for ischemic stroke in these young cases. For intracerebral hemorrhage, only hypertension (OR: 9.08 [95% CI: 5.46-15.1]) and binge drinking (OR: 4.06 [95% CI: 1.27-13.0]) were significant risk factors. The strength of association and population attributable risk (PAR) for hypertension increased with age (PAR 23.3% in those &lt;35 years of age, 50.7% in 35-45 years of age)., Interpretation: Conventional risk factors such as hypertension, smoking, binge drinking of alcohol, central obesity, cardiac causes, dyslipidemia, and psychosocial stress are important risk factors for stroke in those younger than 45 years of age. Hypertension is the most significant risk factor in all age groups and across all regions and both stroke subtypes. These risk factors should be identified and modified in early adulthood to prevent strokes in young individuals., (© 2023 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: Ischemic stroke associated with coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has been well recognized by now. Few studies have compared COVID related versus unrelated strokes. We intend to report on a large group of Asian patients from two countries and compare COVID with non-COVID strokes admitted during the same time period., Methods: Consecutive cases of acute ischemic stroke either presenting or developing, between March 2020 and December 2021 in four tertiary care hospitals (1 in Dubai, UAE and 3 in Karachi, Pakistan) and testing positive for COVID-19 were included in the study. Patients admitted with ischemic stroke during the same time period and who tested negative for COVID-19 were also randomly selected from the four hospitals. All data was collected from the medical records of the patients and recorded on a standard questionnaire before it was entered in SPSS version 21 for analysis., Results: There were 139 COVID positive and 271 COVID negative patients with acute ischemic stroke included in the current study. There were significantly more males (80.6% vs 64.9%, p=0.001) and more large vessel strokes in the COVID positive group (41% vs 21.8%, p<0.001). Being COVID positive was an independent predictor of poor outcome at discharge, defined as a modified Rankin score of 3-6 (OR 3.87, 95% CI 2.21-6.77) after adjusting for country, age, sex, vascular comorbid conditions and stroke subtype., Conclusions: In this largest series of patients with COVID related strokes from Asia, COVID-19 was an independent predictor of poor outcomes at discharge after adjusting for other variables., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None of the authors have any conflicts of interest or disclosures., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Emergency medical services (EMS) play a vital role in expediting hospital arrival in stroke patients. The objective of our study was to assess the level of awareness regarding pre-hospital identification and management of acute stroke among EMS Staff in Dubai and to evaluate the impact of an educational lecture on their knowledge., Methods: Ours was a cross-sectional study with a pre-test and post-test design. The intervention was an educational lecture, based on the updated guidelines in pre-hospital care of acute stroke. Participants were assessed before and after the intervention on various aspects of stroke care. Paired t test were used to compare the impact of the intervention., Results: A total of 274 EMS workers participated in our study. The baseline knowledge of participants regarding stroke types was inadequate with only 68% correctly identifying these. 79% were able to name the cardinal stroke symptoms. Knowledge of stroke mimics was poor with only 6.6% identifying stroke mimics correctly. With respect to management, most participants were unable to correctly identify the points to illicit in the history of an acute stroke patient (25.2%) and also the steps in pre-hospital management (40%). All these aspects showed remarkable improvement post intervention., Conclusion: The baseline awareness of most aspects of acute stroke identification and management was poor in our EMS participants. Our educational lecture proved effective in improving this knowledge when tested immediately post intervention. However, there is a need to re-assess this at periodic intervals to identify the need for refresher courses on pre-hospital stroke management.

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. There is a paucity of data from South Asia where stroke is highly prevalent. Validated tools administrable by community health workers (CHWs) are required to identify stroke in the community in a resource-strapped region such as this., Methods: The study was conducted in a transitional slum in Karachi, Pakistan. Questionnaire to Verify Stroke-Free Status (QVSFS) was adapted and translated into Urdu. Two CHWs, trained by a neurologist, selected 322 community-dwelling subjects using purposive sampling. Each CHW collected data independently, which was validated by a vascular neurologist who directly examined each participant. To assess the effect of audit and feedback, data from the final 10% of the subjects were collected after a second training session for the CHWs. Sensitivity, specificity, and Cohen kappa were determined for the CHW-administered questionnaire against neurovascular assessment., Results: Mean age of participants was 56.5 years with 71% of participants being women. The sensitivity and specificity of the questionnaire of detecting stroke was 77.1% (confidence interval [CI], 64.1-86.9) and 85.8% (CI, 83.5-87.5), respectively. The chance-corrected agreement using the Cohen kappa statistic was .51 (CI, .38-.60). Kappa ranged from .37 to .58 for each of the 7 stroke symptoms. Hemianesthesia (72.9%) and hemiplegia (64.6%) were the most sensitive symptoms. The performance and agreement improved from moderate to substantial after audit and feedback., Conclusions: We found a reasonable sensitivity and specificity and moderate agreement between CHW-administered QVSFS and assessment by a vascular neurologist., (Copyright © 2015 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Asian countries are in various stages of epidemiological transition and therefore exhibit a great diversity in disease patterns. Collectively, they comprise almost two-third of the world's total mortality due to stroke. The purpose of this review is to explore existing epidemiological data on stroke, highlight the temporal trends in stroke epidemiology in various regions of Asia and predict future patterns based on these observations. Our search revealed that there is a lack of good epidemiological data from most Asian countries. Whatever data exist are not comparable due to lack of standardised methodology for ascertaining stroke and its subtypes. For this and other reasons, these estimates exhibit country-to-country variation and also within-country variability. We have also reviewed temporal trends in stroke incidence and prevalence in 12 Asian countries and the evolution of stroke subtypes over the past two decades. Important observations include a rise in stroke incidence in most Asian countries, an earlier age at onset compared with the West, a relative increase in the proportion of ischaemic strokes and a decline in haemorrhagic strokes. Among ischaemic stroke subtypes, lacunar strokes, which were once the commonest variety, are now declining. Emerging data suggest that large artery atherosclerosis and in particular that of intracranial vessels is the predominant aetiology in most Asian countries. The review also identified important gender differences in terms of stroke risk factors, prevalence and outcomes. There is need for sound epidemiological data from most countries to understand the disease better and plan policy-level interventions to decrease the burden. We identify a need for standard format or guidelines for conducting stroke epidemiological studies especially in developing Asian countries. This region must be identified as a priority region for stroke-related interventions and preventive strategies by global healthcare authorities and organisations., (Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.)

Background: Intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAD) is a frequent underlying mechanism of ischemic stroke. There is little direct evidence on its frequency and determinants from regions of high prevalence. This study explores the conventional and socioeconomic risk factors of ICAD in a South Asian population., Methods: The Karachi Intracranial Stenosis Study is a case-control study of 313 cases of ischemic stroke secondary to ICAD and 331 controls enrolled from 4 major hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. Stroke subtype was verified by a vascular neurologist using the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment classification. Relationships of conventional and socioeconomic risk factors with ICAD-related strokes are reported by calculating odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs)., Results: ICAD was the cause of stroke in 81.1% cases with large-artery atherosclerosis and 19.5% of all stroke events. Along with risk factors like history of hypertension (OR, 3.33; CI, 2.31-4.78), history of diabetes (OR, 2.29; CI, 1.56-3.35), use of tobacco (OR, 1.49; CI, 1.03-2.16), waist-to-hip ratio (OR, 1.58; CI, 1.04-2.41), and family history of stroke (OR, 1.89; CI, 1.21-2.95), other significant social determinants of ICAD strokes were monthly income (OR, 1.59; CI, 1.01-2.51), unemployment (OR, 2.15; CI, 1.21-3.83), and chronic stress (OR, 3.67; CI, 2.13-6.34). These social determinants were independent predictors of the risk of ICAD, in addition to those described in other world populations., Conclusions: ICAD accounted for one fifth of all strokes making it the most common ischemic stroke mechanism. In addition to aggressive risk factor control, data also indicated broader holistic efforts on ameliorating inequity, unemployment, and stress reduction to reduce stroke because of ICAD., (Copyright © 2014 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The objective of this study was to establish a multicenter ischemic stroke registry, first of its kind in Pakistan, to provide insight into the epidemiology, subtypes, and risk factors of ischemic strokes in this country., Methods: Four academic centers (3 urban and 1 rural) participated in this project. The inclusion criteria for subjects included adults (>14 years) with acute neurologic deficit, consistent with clinical diagnosis of ischemic stroke and supported by neuroimaging., Results: Data were available for 874 subjects. Mean age of the subjects was 59.7 years, 60.5% were males, and 18% were young. Large vessel strokes were the most common subtype found in 31.7% subjects, followed by small vessel disease (25.7%) and cardioembolic strokes (10.4%). Almost 32% subjects had ill-defined etiology for their ischemic stroke. Dyslipidemia was a most common risk factor present in 83% patients. Data related to in-hospital complications were available for 808 subjects, of which 233 complications were recorded. Pneumonia was the most common of these seen in 105 (13%) subjects, followed by urinary tract infection (7.2%). Outcome at discharge was recorded for 697 subjects. Ninety-two had died during their hospital stay (13.2%). Only 36% subjects had a favorable outcome at discharge defined as a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 2 or less. A total of 446 of 697 subjects had poor outcome at discharge (defined as an mRS score≥3)., Conclusions: Hypertension and dyslipidemia were the most common risk factors and large vessel atherosclerosis was the most common stroke etiology. Elderly patients were significantly more likely to have in-hospital complications, die during their hospital stay, and have a higher mRS score at discharge., (Copyright © 2014 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Despite an increased risk of stroke in pregnancy and puerperium, the overall incidence of the condition in this population is low. Therefore, there is limited data pertaining to these patients particularly from Asian countries. Our objective was to describe the risk factors and outcomes of 110 pregnancy-related ischemic strokes from 5 Asian countries., Methods: Data were collected by retrospective chart review in most cases and prospectively in the rest. Inclusion criteria for this subanalysis were women, pregnant or within 1-month postpartum, presenting to the study center with acute ischemic stroke (arterial or venous) confirmed by neuroimaging. Intracranial hemorrhages other than the ones associated with cerebral venous thrombosis or hemorrhagic infarct were excluded. Risk factors were diagnosed based on already published criteria. Outcomes were measured using modified Rankin score. Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 19.0., Results: In all, 110 women with mean age of 27.94 years presented with pregnancy-related ischemic strokes; 58.2% of the strokes occurred postpartum and 49.1% were secondary to cerebral venous thrombosis. Venous strokes were significantly more likely to occur postpartum compared with arterial strokes (P=.01), to have abnormal "hypercoagulable panel result on admission" (P<.001), less likely to have traditional stroke risk factors (P<.001), to have hemorrhagic conversion of stroke (P<.001), and to have lesser stroke severity and better functional outcome at 3 months (P<.001 for each)., Conclusion: Cerebral venous thrombosis is a significant contributor to pregnancy-related strokes in Asian women. Both traditional and pregnancy-specific risk factors should be addressed to control ischemic stroke risk in these women., (Copyright © 2013 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Cardio embolism and cerebrovascular atherosclerosis are two major mechanisms of stroke. Studies investigating associations between advanced echocardiographic parameters and stroke mechanisms are limited., Methods: This study is a standardized review of 633 patients admitted to the stroke service of a tertiary care hospital following a standardized stroke investigation and management pathway. Stroke subtypes were characterized using the Causative Classification System, using the hospitals online radiologic archival system with CCS certified stroke investigators. Patients with two mechanisms were excluded., Results: Patients with cardioembolic stroke had a higher proportion of atrial fibrillation (p < 0.001), acute myocardial infarction (p < 0.001) and ischemic heart disease (p < 0.001). On electrocardiogram (ECG) and transthoracic Echo (TTE), patients with cardioembolic stroke had a greater atrial fibrillation (p < .00), left ventricular thrombus (p < .00), left ventricular ejection fraction <30% (p < .00) and global hypokinesia (p < .00) Patients with cardioembolic stroke had higher mean left atrial volume indices (LAVi) (p < 0.001), mean left ventricular mass indices (LVMi) (p < 0.05) and mean left atrial diameters (LAD) (p < 0.05). At LAVi of 29-33 ml/m2, the risk of atherothrombotic stroke increased. The risk of cardioembolic stroke increased with LAVi of 34 ml/m2 and above., Conclusion: Left atrial volume indices may be linked to specific stroke phenotype. At mild increases in left atrial dimensions, the risks of atherosclerotic stroke are high, and probably reflect hypertension as the unifying mechanism. Further increases in left atrial dimensions shifts the risk towards cardioembolic stroke.

Background: There are no descriptions of stroke mechanisms from intracranial atherosclerotic disease in native South Asian Pakistanis., Methods: Men and women aged ≥ 18 years with acute stroke presenting to four tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan were screened using magnetic resonance angiography/transcranial Doppler scans. Trial of ORG 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment criteria were applied to identify strokes from intracranial atherosclerotic disease., Results: We studied 245 patients with acute stroke due to intracranial atherosclerotic disease. Two hundred thirty scans were reviewed. Also, 206/230 (89.0%) showed acute ischaemia. The most frequent presentation was with cortically based strokes in 42.2% (87/206) followed by border-zone infarcts (52/206, 25.2%). Increasing degrees of stenosis correlated with the development of both cortical and border-zone strokes (P = 0.002). Important associated findings were frequent atrophy (166/230, 72.2%), silent brain infarcts (66/230, 28%) and a marked lack of severe leukoaraiosis identified in only 68/230 (29.6%). A total of 1870 arteries were studied individually. Middle cerebral artery was the symptomatic stroke vessel in half, presenting with complete occlusion in 66%. Evidence of biological disease, symptomatic or asymptomatic was identified in 753 (40.2%) vessels of which 543 (72%) were significantly (>50%) stenosed at presentation., Conclusion: Intracranial atherosclerotic disease is a diffuse process in Pakistani south Asians, with involvement of multiple vessels in addition to the symptomatic vessel. The middle cerebral artery is the most frequent symptomatic vessel presenting with cortical embolic infarcts. There is a relative lack of leukoaraiosis. Concomitant atrophy, silent brain infarcts and recent ischaemia in the symptomatic territory are all frequently associated findings., (© 2012 The Authors. International Journal of Stroke © 2012 World Stroke Organization.)

Stroke rates in middle-aged people are five to ten times higher in Pakistan, India, Russia, China, and Brazil, compared with the United Kingdom or United States. South Asia is home to 20% of the world's population and has one of the highest burdens of cardiovascular disease in the world. With an aging population, there is an expected increase in the number of stroke cases and a corresponding increase in the burden of stroke in developing countries including South Asian countries like Pakistan. Limited data from prior studies in developing countries indicate that stroke epidemiology differs between these and Western countries. These differences include a higher incidence of stroke at younger ages, a higher prevalence of hemorrhagic stroke, and higher age-specific prevalence rates of stroke in women. The reasons for these differences in stroke epidemiology in developing countries are not clear. This may be explained by higher prevalence of established stroke risk factors, or potential nontraditional risk factors such as water pipe smoking, use of daldaghee or naswaar, and paan chewing; hepatitis and rheumatic heart disease may also contribute to these differences. Acute and long-term stroke treatment has shown limited progress in Pakistan like other developing countries because of poor awareness of patients and general physician on stroke symptomatology, management of stroke risk factors, lack of specialized stroke units in the country, very low utilization of thrombolytic therapy because of financial constraints and, above all, poor knowledge of physicians on the role of rehabilitation and its different aspects in the management of post stroke disability., (© 2012 The Authors. International Journal of Stroke © 2012 World Stroke Organization.)

There is an increased risk of strokes in pregnancy and puerperium. Intracranial haemorrhage is the rarer of the two stroke subtypes but carries a greater morbidity and mortality for both the mother and the child. This review highlights the causes of pregnancy-related intracranial haemorrhage and its management. The incidence varies from region to region with the highest being reported from China and Taiwan. Majority of these haemorrhages are secondary to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy with smaller proportions related to aneurysm and arteriovenous malformation rupture. A small but important contributor is cortical venous thrombosis which, although predominantly gives rise to ischaemic lesions, may lead to parenchymal haemorrhages as well. Presentation is usually with headaches or seizures, with or without focal deficits. Diagnosis requires brain imaging with computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, and the necessity of investigation when this diagnosis is suspected supersedes the small risk of fetal malformation. Management follows the general management principles for intracranial haemorrhage management. Blood pressures need to be strictly monitored and medicines used for controlling them may differ slightly due to teratogenic effects. For preeclampsia, early but safe delivery is the best treatment. For cortical venous thrombosis, low-molecular-weight heparin is the preferred agent. Aneurysms and vascular malformations need to be definitively treated to prevent re-bleed and this can be achieved through surgical or endovascular procedures. The timing of surgery depends on neurosurgical considerations. However, the timing and mode of delivery are governed by obstetric factors. Risk of future haemorrhage depends on whether the underlying aetiology can be and has been definitively treated., (© 2012 The Authors. International Journal of Stroke © 2012 World Stroke Organization.)

Background: There is a paucity of population based data about the coexistent proportions of risk factors for stroke in South Asians., Methods: In this cross sectional survey performed in an urban slum, individuals 35 years of age or older were invited for participation through a simple random sample drawn from baseline census data. For each participant a systematic history and examination was performed to confirm the following risk factors: diabetes, hypertension, obesity, tobacco use, coronary artery disease, family history of coronary artery disease and/or stroke. Cerebrovascular events (stroke and TIA) were verified by a vascular neurologist. We report the association of risk factor groups and the presence of contemporaneous cerebrovascular event., Results: Five hundred and forty-five individuals (49.4% females) participated in the study. One hundred and nineteen (21.8%) individuals had a cerebrovascular event (stroke and /or TIA). Obesity was found to be the predominant risk factor, occurring in 310 individuals (56.9%), followed by total hypertension (284; 52.1%) and tobacco use respectively (213; 39%). Cerebrovascular event increased in percentage with quantitative increase in risk factors. Cerebrovascular event prevalence was 14.3% with one risk factor, 22% with two, 27% with three, 33% with four, and 86% with five risk factors respectively. The combination of 4 risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, obesity and cigarette smoking) conferred the highest odds of having cerebrovascular event at 4.9 (P 0.03)., Conclusion: South Asians in an urban slum often have multiple modifiable risk factors for cerebrovascular event, increasing numbers of risk factors increase the risk of stroke and TIA., (© 2011 The Authors. International Journal of Stroke © 2011 World Stroke Organization.)

Background: The burden of cerebrovascular disease in developing countries is rising sharply. The prevalence of established risk factors of stroke is exceptionally high in Pakistan. However, there is limited data on the burden of stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) in South Asia. We report the first such study conducted in an urban slum of Karachi, Pakistan., Methods: Individuals 35 years of age or older were invited for participation in this investigation through simple random sampling. A structured face-to-face interview was conducted using a pre-tested stroke symptom questionnaire in each participant to screen for past stroke or TIA followed by neurological examination of suspected cases. Anthropometric measurements and random blood glucose levels were recorded. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the association of vascular risk factors with prevalence of stroke., Results: Five hundred and forty five individuals (49.4% females) participated in the study with a response rate of 90.8%. One hundred and four individuals (19.1%) were observed to have a prior stroke while TIA was found in 53 individuals (9.7%). Overall, 119 individuals (21.8% with 66.4% females) had stroke and/or TIA. Female gender, old age, raised random blood glucose level and use of chewable tobacco were significantly associated with the prevalence of cerebrovascular disease., Conclusion: This is the first study demonstrating an alarmingly high life-time prevalence of cerebrovascular disease in Pakistan. Individual and public health interventions in Pakistan to increase awareness about stroke, its prevention and therapy are warranted.

Introduction: Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) associated with pregnancy and puerperium has long been recognized, with poor information in terms of functional outcomes. Our objective was to analyze risk factors, clinical, imaging, and laboratory variables to predict functional outcome and death in this population. Methods: CVT registries from three referral centers from Pakistan, Turkey, and Mexico, recruiting prospective cases, were combined for CVT associated with pregnancy or puerperium. Datasets and variables were standardized. Demographic characteristics, presentation, risk factors, and functional outcomes in pregnancy/puerperium-related CVT were analyzed. Binary logistic regression was used to assess predictors of outcome. The main outcome was modified Rankin score >2 at 30 days and mortality at 30 days. Results: Five hundred fifty-three cases (median age 28 years [IQR 23–34]) of CVT associated with pregnancy and puerperium were included; 439 cases (79.4%) happened in the puerperium and 20.6% during pregnancy (53.5% occurred during the first trimester). Anemia (36.7%) and dehydration (22.9%) were the commonest obstetric risk factors identified. Predictors of poor outcome (mRS >2) were encephalopathy (OR 12.8, p < 0.001), cases from Mexican origin (OR 3.1, p = 0.004), fever/puerperal infection (OR 2.7, p = 0.02), and anemia (OR 2.2, p = 0.01). Cases from Mexican origin (OR 12.0, p = 0.003) and Encephalopathy (OR 7.7, p < 0.001), presented with the highest mortality association in the final adjusted model. Discussion/Conclusion: In CVT associated with pregnancy and puerperium, encephalopathy, fever/puerperal infection, and anemia are associated with bad functional outcomes, meanwhile encephalopathy and cases from Mexican origin with higher mortality in the acute (30-days) of CVT onset. Anemia and infection are potential reversible predictors of poor outcome that clinicians should be aware of in order to prevent poor outcomes in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Amongst all the global catastrophe due to Coronavirus disease 2019, a significant bright spot is a reduction in air pollution as countries undergo lockdowns to limit the spread of infection. Another reduction that has been reported is in the number of strokes presenting to hospitals, despite the virus implicated in causing a hypercoagulable state. Acute exposure to air pollution has been linked to increase in stroke incidence and the improvement in air quality may be responsible for the decrease in stroke presentations.Materials and Methods: To explore this hypothesis, we compared the air quality index (AQI) of Karachi, the largest cosmopolitan city of Pakistan, during the lockdown period in 2020 to the same period in the previous year.Results: We found a significant drop in AQI depicting an improvement in air quality. Simultaneously, we identified a drop in number of stroke admissions to less than half from 2019 to 2020 at one of the largest tertiary care hospitals of the city, during this period of interest.Conclusion: We hypothesize that one important reason for this drop in stroke admissions, may be an actual reduction in stroke incidence brought about by an improvement in air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]