Publications by authors named "Aaron Loochtan"

Background And Objectives: Declines in stroke admission, IV thrombolysis (IVT), and mechanical thrombectomy volumes were reported during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a paucity of data on the longer-term effect of the pandemic on stroke volumes over the course of a year and through the second wave of the pandemic. We sought to measure the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volumes of stroke admissions, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), IVT, and mechanical thrombectomy over a 1-year period at the onset of the pandemic (March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021) compared with the immediately preceding year (March 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020).

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Article Synopsis
  • Recent studies showed a rise in cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) cases during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting this evaluation of hospitalization and mortality rates comparing the pandemic year (2020) to the year prior (2019).
  • A cross-sectional study analyzed data from 171 stroke centers worldwide, focusing on CVT admissions and associated mortality from January 2019 to May 2021, revealing no significant differences in overall CVT volume or mortality between 2019 and 2020.
  • However, the first five months of 2021 saw a notable increase in CVT admissions compared to 2019 and 2020, with higher mortality rates linked to COVID-19-positive patients and instances of vaccine-induced immune
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Objective: To measure the global impact of COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of IV thrombolysis (IVT), IVT transfers, and stroke hospitalizations over 4 months at the height of the pandemic (March 1 to June 30, 2020) compared with 2 control 4-month periods.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, observational, retrospective study across 6 continents, 70 countries, and 457 stroke centers. Diagnoses were identified by their ICD-10 codes or classifications in stroke databases.

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Objectives: Neurological emergencies comprise much of neurology residency, but there may be a lack of clinical experience. For our program, oral examinations have been used to assess resident readiness for additional clinical independence. In this study, we examined the perceptions of learners and examiners of oral case examinations.

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Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is known to develop post-stroke. Median nerve ultrasound (US) is an inexpensive, effective means of screening. In this prospective feasibility study, we compared the ability of the physical exam, the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) and median nerve US to screen for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) within 72hours of stroke onset.

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