ArticleHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2020
The Demand for Elective Neurosurgery at a German University Hospital during the First Wave of COVID-19.
Article in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on neurosurgery in the elderly population in Sweden.BMC public health · 2024Observational
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on oncological care in Germany: rapid review.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2023Review
- Letter to the Editor: Commentary on Does the COVID-19 Screening Test Affect the Postoperative Prognosis of Patients Who Undergo Emergency Surgery for Cerebral Hemorrhage? (Korean journal of neurotrauma · 2023Article
- Dynamics in the Neurotrauma Catchment Area of a German University Hospital during the COVID-19 Pandemic.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPatients' fear of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may delay inevitable treatment, putting potential benefits at risk. This single-center retrospective study aims to analyze temporal relationships of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany with the number of patients who sought and received elective neurosurgical treatment at a German university hospital.
methodsDaily outpatient numbers (ON) and elective procedures (EP) were recorded at our department between 1 January 2020 and 30 June 2020 (baseline: between 1 January 2019 and 30 June 2019). In patients who received EP, we recorded indication, outcome, and length of stay (LOS). Moving averages of ON (MAON) and of EP were calculated. Data on governmental action taken in response to the pandemic and on coronavirus-positive cases in Germany (CPCG) were superimposed. Exponential and arc tangent curves (ATC) were fitted to the absolute numbers of CPCG. Phase shifts were estimated, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient,
resultsON were significantly decreased in April 2020 as compared to April 2019 (
conclusionThe beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic was correlated to an immediate and significant decrease in ON, and to a significant decrease in the number of EP performed. The subsequent increase in ON was delayed. Adequate measures to promote timely discharge of patients may become increasingly relevant as the pandemic proceeds. Although we observed a shift in the range of indications towards significantly more EP in patients with neurological deficiencies, care should be taken to avoid potentially deleterious delays of necessary elective treatment in future pandemic situations.
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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.