International Journal of General Medicine (Jan 2021)
Identifying the Stroke Mimics
Abstract
Ajay Kumar Mishra,1 Harshad Arvind Vanjare,2 Anu Anna George,1 Kamal Kant Sahu1 1Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Vincent Hospital, Worcester, MA, USA; 2Department of Radiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, IndiaCorrespondence: Kamal Kant SahuDepartment of Internal Medicine, Saint Vincent Hospital, Worcester, MA 01608, USAEmail [email protected]: Individuals presenting with sudden and focal neurological findings are usually suspected to have stroke. However, there are other conditions that can simulate stroke, which are often referred to as stroke mimics. Awareness and understanding these stroke-like disorders are of extreme importance as the treatment of each of them might be variable. We hereby briefly discuss these stroke mimics, common differentials, and key features to differentiate amongst the various causes of acute neurological event. Stroke is one of the neurological emergencies that needs urgent intervention to prevent significant mortality and morbidity. At the same time, it is important to realize the importance of other conditions which may mimic to stroke. In this letter, we aim to discuss a few key features that could probably help to distinguish stroke from mimickers thereby helping emergency doctors, neurologists, and hospitalists in streamlining the correct treatment at the earliest.Keywords: COVID-19, stroke, virus, SARS-CoV-2, neurology
