Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32777390›Full record

ArticleWorld neurosurgery2020

Case Volumes and Perioperative Coronavirus Disease 2019 Incidence in Neurosurgical Patients During a Pandemic: Experiences at Two Tertiary Care Centers in Washington, DC.

Ehsan Dowlati, Tianzan Zhou, Kwadwo Sarpong, Gnel Pivazyan, Jessica Briscoe, Islam Fayed, William Mualem, Jordan Black, Christopher G Kalhorn, Mani N Nair and 1 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in World neurosurgery, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 13% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Observational
  4. COVID-19 pandemic and elective spinal surgery cancelations - what happens to the patients?The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society · 2021
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Preprocedure COVID-19 Testing in Early Phase of Pandemic.Journal of patient-centered research and reviews · 2021
    Article
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Ehsan DowlatiDepartment of Neurosurgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA. Electronic address: edowlati@gmail.com.
Tianzan ZhouDepartment of Neurosurgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Kwadwo SarpongGeorgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Gnel PivazyanDepartment of Neurosurgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Jessica BriscoeDepartment of General Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Islam FayedDepartment of Neurosurgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
William MualemGeorgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Jordan BlackGeorgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Christopher G KalhornDepartment of Neurosurgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Mani N NairDepartment of Neurosurgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Daniel R FelbaumDepartment of Neurosurgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Georgetown University · USMedStar Washington Hospital Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe 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.

methodsThe 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.

resultsA 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.

conclusionA 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.

Indexed as

AdultCOVID-19District of ColumbiaElective Surgical ProceduresFemaleHumansIncidenceMaleNeurosurgeryNeurosurgical ProceduresSARS-CoV-2Tertiary Care CentersYoung AdultCOVID-19NeurointerventionalNeurosurgeryPandemic responseSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

Identifiers

PMID32777390
PMCPMC7834543
OpenAlexW3047734645

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.