Impact of Covid-19 on the Behavior of Community Residents With Suspected Transient Ischemic Attack

Background and purposes To investigate the impact of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) on the behavior of seeking medical attention for community residents with the suspected transient ischemic attack (TIA) during the pandemic. Methods This was a community-based cross-sectional study with residents living in two communities located in the suburb of Shanghai. A face-to-face interview was prospectively conducted from 20 May 2020 to 30 June 2020 between community physicians and the community residents. Suspected TIA that happened during the pandemic was identified by symptoms recalled from the community residents. The behavior of seeking medical attention after the suspected TIA was investigated. Results A total of 873 community residents (517 from the Wujing community and 356 from the Maqiao community) took part in the face-to-face interview. Of them, 143(16.38%) suspected TIA cases were identified. Less than 20% of the community residents with suspected TIA went for the hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic. The most common reason for not seeking medical care during the pandemic was still that the symptom relieved quickly (94.9%), however, the pandemic did have an impact on the behavior. Fear of in-hospital infection (55.1%) and the complicated procedures to seek medical attention during the pandemic (55.9%) made community residents hesitate to seek medical attention after the suspected TIA. Residents with a dual attack within one week or with aphasia or dysarthria were more likely to seek medical attention during the pandemic. Conclusion Our study indicated that the Covid-19 pandemic harmed the behavior of seeking medical attention among the community residents with suspected TIA and this might explain part of the reduction of the presentations for stroke or TIA observed from other reports.