Case Volumes and Perioperative Coronavirus Disease 2019 Incidence in Neurosurgical Patients During a Pandemic: Experiences at Two Tertiary Care Centers in Washington, DC.
World Neurosurg
; 143: e550-e560, 2020 11.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-765764
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
The true incidence of perioperative coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has not been well elucidated in neurosurgical studies. We reviewed the effects of the pandemic on the neurosurgical case volume to study the incidence of COVID-19 in patients undergoing these procedures during the perioperative period and compared the characteristics and outcomes of this group to those of patients without COVID-19.METHODS:
The neurosurgical and neurointerventional procedures at 2 tertiary care centers during the pandemic were reviewed. The case volume, type, and acuity were compared to those during the same period in 2019. The perioperative COVID-19 tests and results were evaluated to obtain the incidence. The baseline characteristics, including a modified Medically Necessary Time Sensitive (mMeNTS) score, and outcome measures were compared between those with and without COVID-19.RESULTS:
A total of 405 cases were reviewed, and a significant decrease was found in total spine, cervical spine, lumbar spine, and functional/pain cases. No significant differences were found in the number of cranial or neurointerventional cases. Of the 334 patients tested, 18 (5.4%) had tested positive for COVID-19. Five of these patients were diagnosed postoperatively. The mMeNTS score, complications, and case acuity were significantly different between the patients with and without COVID-19.CONCLUSION:
A small, but real, risk exists of perioperative COVID-19 in neurosurgical patients, and those patients have tended to have a greater complication rate. Use of the mMeNTS score might play a role in decision making for scheduling elective cases. Further studies are warranted to develop risk stratification and validate the incidence.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Elective Surgical Procedures
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
/
Neurosurgery
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
World Neurosurg
Journal subject:
Neurosurgery
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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