Decompressive hemicraniectomy for acute ischemic stroke: A neurosurgical view in a pandemic COVID-19 time highlights of literature

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.