Neurosurgeons on the front line: experience from the center of the storm in Italy

Abstract

In this tumultuous time, the entire world has been shaken up by the COVID-19 outbreak. Italy has had one of the highest infection-related mortality rates. Bergamo, a city in eastern Lombardy, was among the most affected. Here, the authors describe the main healthcare actions taken at their institution to stem the crisis, with particular concern regarding the fate of their neurosurgery department. Among the different topics, the authors particularly focus on the retraining of neurosurgeons, organization of activities, and what should be the role of neurosurgeons during a pandemic.

Perioperative Complications of Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Neurosurgery

“…It has been shown that patients undergoing general surgery with a concomitant COVID-19 infection are prone to developing postoperative complications [12]. To our knowledge, several studies have focused on the changes in referrals and organization of neurosurgical units during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic but only few studies have investigated the incidence of perioperative complications in patients undergoing cranial neurosurgical procedures with concomitant COVID-19 infection [13][14][15][16]. This study aimed to investigate the rate of perioperative hemorrhagic or thrombotic complications in SARS-CoV-2-positive patients undergoing neurosurgical procedures.…”