Background and purpose: The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which was identified after the outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, has kept the whole world in tenterhooks due to its severe life-threatening nature of the infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 a pandemic in 2020, an unprecedented challenge, having a high contagious life-threatening condition with unprecedented impacts for worldwide societies and health care systems. Neurologic symptoms related to SARS-CoV-2 have been described recently in the literature, and acute cerebrovascular disease is one of the most serious complications. The occurrence of large-vessel occlusion in young patients with COVID-19 infection has been exceedingly rare. In this article, we describe the profile of patients undergoing decompressive craniectomy for the treatment of intracranial hypertension by stroke associated with COVID-19 published so far. A narrative review of the central issue in focus was designed: decompressive craniectomy in a pandemic time.
Keywords: ARDS, acute respiratory distress syndrome; COVID-19; COVID-19, Coronavirus disease 2019; CT, computed tomography; CTA, Computed tomography angiography; DHC, decompressive hemicraniectomy; DWI, Diffusion-weighted imaging; ECCO2R, Extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal; ECMO, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; GCS, Glasgow coma scale; Hemicraniectomy, Review; ICU, intensive unit care; MCA, middle cerebral artery; MCE, malignant cerebral edema; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; SARS-CoV-2; Stroke; WHO, World Health Organization; hACE2, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2.
© 2022 The Authors.