Effects of the covid‐19 pandemic on neurological diseases

Khoshsirat, Nahid Abbasi; Qorbani, Mostafa; Farivar, Ali Mokhtari; Mohammadpoor Nami, Sahar; Mohammadian Khonsari, Nami

BACKGROUND: Covid‐19 has caused many complications for both the infected and those in need of medical care. This may be due to infection‐related prognosis worsening or the patients’ avoidance of referring to the hospital for fear of contracting the infection. The decline of acute referral to the ER of many significant conditions with severe results on both the well‐being and life‐expectancy is a serious concern. To address these concerns, we designed this study to evaluate the recent pandemic's impact on “in‐hospital mortality” caused by neurological disorders pre and postpandemic. METHODS AND MATERIAL: The inclusion criteria were any acute neurological condition and the consent of the patients eligible for our study. The definitions of all assessed conditions and the comorbidities are ICD‐10 based. Hypertension and diabetes mellitus, due to their high prevalence, were evaluated separately from other internal comorbidities. The total number of the enrolled patients was 1742, 671 of whom had been during the COVID‐19 pandemic, and 1071 had attended the ER during the prepandemic era. RESULTS: The overall mortality was significantly higher during the pandemic, and the covid infected had suffered higher mortality rates. (p‐value < 0.05) CONCLUSION: During the pandemic, those with minor strokes and other nonlife‐threatening ailments had avoided hospital care leading to a significantly higher rate of critical conditions. Increased incidence of strokes and ICHs during the pandemic, too, caused significant increased in‐hospital mortality.