Neurosurgical Outcomes, Protocols, and Resource Management During Lockdown: Early Institutional Experience from One of the World's Largest COVID 19 Hotspots

• Published in: World neurosurgery 2021-11, Vol.155, p.e34-e40
• Main Authors: Sudhan, Manoharan Dwark, Singh, Rupesh Kumar, Yadav, Rahul, Sivasankar, Rajeev, Mathai, Sheila Samanta, Shankaran, Ramakrishnan, Kulkarni, Sachin Narayan, Shanthanu, Cherukuri Prakash, Sandhya, Lingappa Moolya, Shaikh, Azimuddin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clinical Protocols; Communicable Disease Control - methods; Communicable Disease Control - trends; COVID-19; COVID-19 - diagnosis; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; COVID-19 Testing - methods; COVID-19 Testing - trends; Female; Health Resources - trends; Humans; India - epidemiology; Male; Monitored anesthesia care; Neurosurgery protocols; Neurosurgical Procedures - methods; Neurosurgical Procedures - trends; Original; Retrospective Studies; Tertiary Care Centers - trends; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 1878-8750; 1878-8769; 1878-8769
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2021.07.082

As the COVID-19 pandemic surpasses 1 year, it is prudent to reflect on the challenges faced and the management strategies employed to tackle this overwhelming health care crisis. We undertook this study to validate our institutional protocols, which were formulated to cater to the change in volume and pattern of neurosurgical cases during the raging pandemic. All admitted patients scheduled to undergo major neurosurgical intervention during the lockdown period (15 March 2020 to 15 September 2020) were included in the study. The data involving surgery outcomes, disease pattern, anesthesia techniques, patient demographics, as well as COVID-19 status, were analyzed and compared with similar retrospective data of neurosurgical patients operated during the same time period in the previous year (15 March 2019 to 15 September 2019). Barring significant increase in surgery for stroke (P = 0.008) and hydrocephalus (P