Challenges in Neurosurgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Experience of Kazakhstan.
World Neurosurg
; 161: e376-e383, 2022 05.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1671301
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The practice of neurosurgery has been profoundly affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Kazakhstan. Many elective surgeries were postponed or canceled, which resulted in difficulties in hospitalization. In the present study, we aimed to describe the effects of COVID-19 on neurosurgical practice and to determine whether a discrepancy was present in the effects between metropolises and regional cities in Kazakhstan.METHODS:
We performed an electronic internet-based survey among Kazakhstan's neurosurgeons using the virtual snowball sampling method. The invitation link to complete the questionnaire was sent to neurosurgeons through personal and corporate electronic mail and social networks. The data were analyzed using Excel and Stata.RESULTS:
A total of 43 neurosurgeons completed the survey. The distribution of regional and urban respondents was almost equal. The male neurosurgeons outnumbered the female neurosurgeons (93.02% vs. 6.98%). A decrease in consultations (65.34% ± 28.24%) and surgeries (56.55% ± 26.34%) had been observed by all neurosurgeons, regardless of city type. However, the proportion of neurosurgeons who had attended online educational courses during the pandemic was significantly higher (P = 0.001) for the surgeons from major cities (68.18%) compared with the surgeons from smaller cities (19.05%). The regional neurosurgeons tended to perform urgent surgeries on COVID-19-positive patients 3 times more often than had the metropolitan neurosurgeons (P < 0.001).CONCLUSIONS:
The true effect of the pandemic remains unknown for Kazakhstan. A discrepancy between the metropolitan and regional cities was found in the present study. Efforts are required and relevant guidelines must be developed to ensure that the neurosurgical treatment of various conditions continues to be available during health emergencies and that the disparities are addressed.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Neurosurgery
Type of study:
Observational study
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
/
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
World Neurosurg
Journal subject:
Neurosurgery
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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