ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION AND AIM: COVID-19 pandemic has disturbed many hospital activities, including medical education. We describe the switch from in-person didactic sessions to videoconferencing in a Neurology department. We analyse the opinions and satisfaction of participants. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Narrative description of the adopted measures; Online survey among participants. RESULTS: One of the three weekly sessions was cancelled, and two switched to videoconferencing. There were more participants online than in the conference hall. 49 users answered the survey, 51% women, mean age 40.5 years (range 25-65). Satisfaction was higher for previous face-to-face meetings (8.68) than for videoconferencing (8.12) (p=0.006). There was a significant inverse correlation between age and satisfaction with virtual sessions (r=-0.37; p=0.01), that was not found for in-person attendance. Most users (75.5%) would prefer to continue with online sessions when the pandemic is over, and 87.8% support inter-hospital remote meetings, but the safety of web platforms is a concern (53.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The change from in-person to virtual sessions is an easy measure to implement in a neurology department, with a good degree of satisfaction among users. There are some unsolved problems with the use of commercial web platforms and inter-hospital connection. Most users recommend leadership and support from educational and health authorities.
TITLE: Cambio de sesiones docentes presenciales a virtuales durante la pandemia de COVID-19 en un servicio de neurología: descripción del proceso y satisfacción de los usuarios.Introducción y objetivo. La pandemia de COVID-19 ha trastornado la actividad hospitalaria, incluyendo la docente. Se describe el cambio de un sistema presencial a otro de sesiones en línea en un servicio de neurología, y se analizan la satisfacción y las opiniones de los usuarios. Material y métodos. Exposición de las medidas adoptadas para pasar a modalidad en línea y análisis de una encuesta entre los participantes. Resultados. Se pasó de tres a dos sesiones semanales, con restricción del público presencial. El público virtual superó al presencial. Contestaron la encuesta 49 participantes, un 51% mujeres, con una media de 40,5 años (rango: 25-65). La satisfacción de los asistentes fue mayor para las sesiones presenciales (8,68) que para las en línea (8,12) (p = 0,006). Existía una correlación inversa significativa entre la edad y la satisfacción con las sesiones en línea (r = 0,37; p = 0,01) que no se daba para las sesiones presenciales. El 75,5% fue partidario de mantener las sesiones virtuales cuando se eliminaran las restricciones de aforo. Una mayoría (87,8%) apoyó sesiones interhospitalarias y recomienda que las autoridades sanitarias faciliten aplicaciones informáticas seguras (53,1%). Conclusiones. La introducción de sesiones virtuales es una medida fácil de implementar en un servicio de neurología, con un alto grado de satisfacción de los usuarios, aunque menor que con las sesiones presenciales. Existen problemas no resueltos respecto al uso de plataformas comerciales y conexión interhospitalaria. Sería recomendable que las autoridades sanitarias y educativas desarrollaran aplicaciones seguras y fomentaran la educación médica en línea.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Consumer Behavior , Education, Medical, Continuing/methods , Education, Medical, Graduate/methods , Neurology/education , Pandemics , Videoconferencing , Adult , Aged , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Hospital Departments , Hospitals, University , Humans , Internship and Residency , Male , Middle Aged , Neurologists/education , Neurologists/psychology , Patient Handoff , Students, Medical/psychology , Surveys and Questionnaires , Videoconferencing/instrumentation , Videoconferencing/statistics & numerical dataABSTRACT
Objective: to analyse the frequency of cognitive impairment and other neurological comorbidities in deceased COVID-19 patients, during the outbreak of the pandemic in Madrid, Spain. Methods: retrospective, single-center, hospital-based study. We included adults that died after admission from March 1 to March 31, 2020, at Hospital Universitario 12 De Octubre. Clinical and demographic data were extracted from electronic medical records. Results: 477 cases: 58 with probable COVID-19, 281 confirmed COVID-19, and 138 who died of other causes. Comparing the latter two groups, median age (81.4 years vs. 78.1 years;p<0.01) and the proportion of males (62.3% vs. 49.3%, p<0.01) were higher in the confirmed COVID-19 group. The number of comorbidities was high and similar in both groups, and cognitive impairment was common (29.9%;21.1% dementia;8.9% mild cognitive impairment) in confirmed COVID-19. In this group group, subjects with cognitive impairment were older (median 85.8 years vs. 79.0 years, p<0.0001), more lived in nursing homes and had slightly shorter times from symptom onset to death than those without cognitive impairment. COVID-19 patients with cognitive impairment were rarely admitted to the ICU, and fewer received non-invasive mechanical ventilation (7.1% vs. 25.4%, <0.0001). Palliative care was provided in more subjects with cognitive impairment (79.2% vs. 66.3%, p=0.038). Conclusions: in our study, dead patients with confirmed COVID-19 were older and had more comorbidities than those reported in the Asian population. Cognitive impairment is a frequent comorbidity in COVID-19 deceased patients. The burden of COVID-19 in the dementia community will be high.