Table 1.
Effects on and patient characteristics among all telestroke requests between March 15 to April 30 during COVID-19 pandemic compared to historical controls
| 2019 | 2020 | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telestroke requests | 116 | 55 | < 0.00001 |
| Telestroke requests/site | 16.6 | 7.9 | - |
| Telestroke requests/day | 2.5 | 1.2 | - |
| Age, y (SD) | 66.0 (16.6) | 60.7 (16.9) | 0.053 |
| Male gender (%) | 44 (37.9%) | 26 (47.3%) | 0.246 |
| Race/ethnicity | |||
| White | 56 (48.3%) | 29 (52.7%) | 0.587 |
| African American | 52 (44.8%) | 19 (34.5%) | 0.202 |
| Hispanic | 8 (6.9%) | 6 (10.9%) | 0.382 |
| Other | 0 (0%) | 1 (1.8%) | 0.322 |
| Primary AIS/TIA diagnosis (%) | 80 (69.0%) | 43 (78.2%) | 0.210 |
| NIHSS mean (SD) | 7.2 (7.3) | 9.1 (8.4) | 0.122 |
| NIHSS by severity | 0.409 | ||
| NIHSS < 5 | 65 (56.0%) | 25 (45.5%) | |
| NIHSS 5–14 | 27 (23.3%) | 17 (30.9%) | |
| NIHSS > 14 | 24 (20.7%) | 13 (23.7%) | |
| IV-rtPA (%) | 35 (30.2%) | 21 (38.2%) | 0.297 |
| Transfer for possible ET (%) | 18 (15.5%) | 9 (16.4%) | 0.887 |
Values are presented as mean (SD) or absolute (%), as appropriate. AIS indicates acute ischemic stroke, TIA indicates transient ischemic attach, NIHSS indicates National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, IV-rtPA indicates intravenous alteplase, ET indicates endovascular therapy