Hospital-based headache care during the Covid-19 pandemic in Denmark and Norway

The Journal of Headache and Pain

KW Faiz¹  ES Kristoffersen²  AM Storstein³  BW Winsvold⁴  EC Sandset⁵  S Stefansen⁶  JM Hansen⁷ 

[1]Department of Neurology, Akershus University Hospital, PO Box 1000, 1478, Lørenskog, Norway

[2]Department of Neurology, Akershus University Hospital, PO Box 1000, 1478, Lørenskog, Norway

[3]Department of General Practice, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

[4]Department of Neurology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway

[5]Department of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

[6]Department of Research, Innovation and Education, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

[7]Department of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

[8]The Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation, Oslo, Norway

[9]National Headache Knowledge Center, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark

[10]National Headache Knowledge Center, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark

[11]Danish Headache Center, Glostrup – University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

关键词: Migraine;    Telemedicine;    CGRP;    SARS-CoV-2;    Health care planning;    General population;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s10194-020-01195-2

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe Covid-19 pandemic is causing changes in delivery of medical care worldwide. It is not known how the management of headache patients was affected by the lockdown during the pandemic. The aim of the present study was to investigate how the initial phase of the Covid-19 pandemic affected the hospital management of headache in Denmark and Norway.MethodsAll neurological departments in Denmark (n = 14) and Norway (n = 18) were invited to a questionnaire survey. The study focused on the lockdown and all questions were answered in regard to the period between March 12th and April 15th, 2020.ResultsThe responder rate was 91% (29/32). Of the neurological departments 86% changed their headache practice during the lockdown. The most common change was a shift to more telephone consultations (86%). Video consultations were offered by 45%.The number of new headache referrals decreased. Only 36% administered botulinum toxin A treatment according to usual schemes. Sixty% reported that fewer patients were admitted for in-hospital emergency diagnostics and treatment. Among departments conducting headache research 57% had to halt ongoing projects. Overall, 54% reported that the standard of care was worse for headache patients during the pandemic.ConclusionHospital-based headache care and research was impacted in Denmark and Norway during the initial phase of the Covid-19-pandemic.

【 授权许可】

CC BY