ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic committees of all countries restricted face-to-face interactions. This study aimed to determine how the pandemic changed the research output for many neurosurgeons while highlighting how social media may have been used as a contactless platform to maintain research productivity during these times. METHODS: A cross-sectional, descriptive, 24-item, and non-randomized online survey was applied worldwide, and shared using social media platforms and emails. The questions mainly focused on comparing the results of the pre-pandemic period to the pandemic period (after March 2020). RESULTS: A total of 202 respondents from 60 different countries responded to the survey. Interest in neurosurgical education increased from 24% to 76%, while the topic of epidemiology gained interest from 28% to 72% when the pre-pandemic era was compared to the pandemic era. Preference for prospective studies decreased from 66% to 34%, while interest in retrospective studies increased from 39% to 61%. In evaluating publication types, the preference for reviews increased from 36% to 64%. Sixty-two percent of the respondents stated they had concerns over delays in individual contributions/lack of accountability. These concerns were followed by problems with theft of intellectual property/data and authorship disputes. Forty-one percent believed that the support of extra hands on a load-heavy project was the most powerful benefit of social media collaboration. Those who reported increased publications during the pandemic were also more likely to collaborate using social media (P = 0.030). CONCLUSIONS: During the pandemic, social media collaborations helped increase research output for neurosurgeons.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The treatment of spontaneous spinal epidural hematomas (SSEHs), depending on the lesion size and myeloradicular involvement, can be surgical or conservative. Here, we present a 55-year-old patient who sustained a SSEH several months following a systemic SARS-CoV-2 infection. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 55-year-old immunocompromised female (i.e., history 17 years ago of Hodgkin's lymphoma, nodular sclerosis variant) recently developed a SARS-CoV-2 infection treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents. She then reported the sudden onset of cervicodorsalgia after a slight cervical flexion/extension maneuver. The brain and cervicothoracic spine MRI studies documented a clival anterior spinal epidural hematoma with maximum spinal compression at the T1-T2 level; it also extended inferiorly to the T6 level. Two weeks later, the follow-up MRI showed a remarkable reduction in the anteroposterior diameter of the hematoma that correlated with significant neurological improvement and almost complete pain regression. She was discharged after a total 15-day hospital stay, with complete symptoms relief. CONCLUSION: We present a 55-year-old chronically immunocompromised (i.e., due to the history of Hodgkin's lymphoma) female who, following a SARS-CoV-2 infection, developed an anterior SSEH extending from the clivus to the T6 spinal level that spontaneously regressed without surgical intervention.