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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian Journal of Neurosurgery 2022; 11(03): 202-209
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1757203
Research Article

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdown on Non-COVID Neurosurgical Patients: Lessons Learned

Rajnish Kumar Arora
1   Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Science, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Jitendra Shakya 
1   Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Science, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Rajkumar Pannem 
1   Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Science, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Suresh Sharma
2   College of Nursing, All India Institute of Medical Science, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Saravanan Sadhasivam
1   Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Science, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Vikram Singh Rawat 
3   Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Science, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Rajashekhar Rekhapalli
1   Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Science, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Rakesh Kumar Sihag
1   Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Science, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Radhey Shyam Mittal
1   Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Science, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
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Abstract

Objective The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the basic functioning of the health care system. There has been an adverse impact on non-COVID-19 patients due to a shift in healthcare delivery, which is underreported. This study aims to explore the impact of the pandemic on various aspects of non-COVID neurosurgical patients.

Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with a structured questionnaire to assess the physical, economic, and psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures on neurosurgical patients presenting to our hospital after a nationwide lockdown.

Results Among 203 patients, non-neurotrauma and neurotrauma cases were 175 (86%) and 28 (16%), respectively. Among non-neurotrauma patients, 130 (64%) patients had cranial pathology. All 56 (27.6%) preoperative patients experienced rescheduling of surgery. Among 52 postsurgical patients, 47 (90%) had their adjuvant therapy delayed. Forty patients experienced deterioration in their neurological symptoms. Seventy-six (37%) patients sought medical attention from private hospitals. A severe contraction of income (≥ 25% of the income before lockdown) was experienced by families of 29 (14.3%) patients. Severe and very severe stress have been experienced by 24 (11.8%) and 14 (6.9%) patients, respectively. Severe and very severe anxiety was experienced by 32 (15.8%) and 9 (4.4%) patients.

Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown had a tremendous impact on the physical, social, and psychological well-being of patients with non-COVID illnesses. We are yet to face the long-term implications of the delay due to this pandemic in scheduled surgical and adjuvant treatments of non-COVID neurosurgical patients.

Keywords

COVID-19 - impact - neurosurgical patients - pandemic

Ethical Approval

The study was approved by the institute ethics committee (IEC/21/19) of All India Institute of Medical Science, Rishikesh, and Uttarakhand, India.


Consent to Participate

Informed consent was taken from all study participants.


Consent for Publication

The authors affirm that human research participants provided informed consent for publication of their data.


Research Involving Animals

This study did not involve any animals.


Supplementary Material



Publication History

Article published online:
24 November 2022

© 2022. Neurological Surgeons' Society of India. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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