SARS-CoV-2-Associated Cerebrovascular Disease Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Cerebrovascular diseases associated with SARS-CoV-2 are being increasingly reported in the literature as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues. However, a case-based retrospective analysis of the literature about SARS-CoV-2-cerebrovascular disease (SCVD) is not yet well established. Thus, we reviewed the literature on SCVD covering a comprehensive range of topics spanning the clinical features, mechanism, treatment, and outcomes of patients with SCVD.

Methods: We searched PubMed^® and included single-case reports and case series with full text in English that reported original data of patients with CVD and a confirmed recent SARS-CoV-2 infection. Clinical data were extracted.

Results: We included all 51 articles indexed in PubMed^® that were published between January 1, 2020, and June 20, 2020. The selected studies reported a total of 167 cerebrovascular events including ischemic stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and cerebral venous thrombosis in patients with confirmed COVID-19. The detailed demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with CVD are summarized.

Conclusion: This summary of patient characteristics may help clinicians better anticipate SCVD outcomes and complications in their COVID-19 patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; cerebral hemorrhage; cerebral venous thrombosis; cerebrovascular disease; stroke.