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. 2021 Jul;42(7):2607-2610.
doi: 10.1007/s10072-021-05212-3. Epub 2021 Mar 27.

Virtual visits for chronic neurologic disorders during COVID-19 pandemic

Irene Rosellini  1 , Marika Vianello  1 , Anna Ghazaryan  1 , Silvia Vittoria Guidoni  1 , Anna Palmieri  1 , Federico Giopato  1 , Roberta Vitaliani  1 , Matteo Fuccaro  1 , Alberto Terrin  1 , Maria Teresa Rigoni  1 , Francesco Pietrobon  2 , Domenico Marco Bonifati  3
Affiliations

Virtual visits for chronic neurologic disorders during COVID-19 pandemic

Irene Rosellini et al. Neurol Sci. 2021 Jul.

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has boosted telemedicine in medical clinical practice. Experiences in the management of chronic neurological disorders are limited and scattered. The aim of the study was to evaluate feasibility and efficacy of virtual visit for chronic neurological disorders during COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: All patients scheduled for a visit during the lockdown period were contacted. The patients fell into four categories: (1) long-term follow-up, the patient was re-scheduled; (2) visit was necessary, teleconsultation was accepted; (3) problem was solved by phone call; and (4) visit was necessary and teleconsultation was not feasible, then visit was maintained. Google Meet was used. During the virtual visit, neurological examination was performed, and demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded.

Results: At the end of May 2020, 184 virtual visits for 178 patients were performed for the following diseases: myasthenia gravis (47 patients), multiple sclerosis (79), epilepsy (12), headache (6), and parkinsonism (34). The patients were 70 males and 108 females with a mean age of 53.5 years (range 13-90). During virtual visit, we were able to obtain a satisfactory neurological examination.

Conclusions: We demonstrated feasibility and effectiveness of virtual visit in the management of a large group of patients with common chronic neurological disorders.

Keywords: COVID-19; Chronic neurologic disorders; Continuity of care; Neurology; Telemedicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of teleconsultations through different classes of age
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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