Elsevier

World Neurosurgery

Volume 145, January 2021, Pages e202-e208
World Neurosurgery

Original Article
Early Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Neurosurgical Training in the United States: A Case Volume Analysis of 8 Programs

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2020.10.016Get rights and content

Objective

To determine the impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on operative case volume in 8 U.S. neurosurgical residency training programs in early 2020 and to survey these programs regarding training activities during this period.

Methods

A retrospective review was conducted of monthly operative case volumes and types for 8 residency programs for 2019 and January through April 2020. Cases were grouped as elective cranial, elective spine, and nonelective emergent cases. Programs were surveyed regarding residents' perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 on surgical training, didactics, and research participation. Data were analyzed for individual programs and pooled across programs.

Results

Across programs, the 2019 monthly mean ± SD case volume was 211 ± 82; 2020 mean ± SD case volumes for January, February, March, and April were 228 ± 93, 214 ± 84, 180 ± 73, and 107 ± 45. Compared with 2019, March and April 2020 mean cases declined 15% (P = 0.003) and 49% (P = 0.002), respectively. COVID-19 affected surgical case volume for all programs; 75% reported didactics negatively affected, and 90% reported COVID-19 resulted in increased research time. Several neurosurgery residents required COVID-19 testing; however, to our knowledge, only 1 resident from the participating programs tested positive.

Conclusions

This study documents a significant reduction in operative volume in 8 neurosurgery residency training programs in early 2020. During this time, neurosurgery residents engaged in online didactics and research-related activities, reporting increased research productivity. Residency programs should collect data to determine the educational impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on residents' operative case volumes, identify deficiencies, and develop plans to mitigate any effects.

Key words

Case volume
Coronavirus
COVID-19
Neurosurgery training
Residency
Skills

Abbreviations and Acronyms

ABNS
American Board of Neurological Surgery
ACGME
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
COVID-19
2019 novel coronavirus disease

Cited by (0)

Conflict of interest statement: M. R. Levitt reports funding support from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, Stryker, Medtronic, and Philips Volcano; consultant fees from Medtronic; and equity interest in Synchron, Cerebrotech Medical Systems, and eLoupes. He is an advisor for Metis Innovative.

Zaid Aljuboori and Christopher Young are co–first authors.

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