Department of Neurology, Institute of Medical Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Neurol India. 2021 Sep-Oct;69(5):1234-1240. doi: 10.4103/0028-3886.329546.
Globally, social distancing has been practiced during the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to prevent the transmission of the virus. One of the measures to ensure social distancing and restricting the movements has been national lockdown, to break the chain of transmission. Telemedicine is a cost-effective measure to provide medical services to remote underserved areas.
The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and acceptability of teleconsultation as an alternative option to in-person consultation in providing continued medical care for neurology patients during the national lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The clinical demographic profile, frequency of different neurological disorders, and treatment details of the patients attending the teleneurology consultation (TNCO) outpatient department (OPD) at Sir Sunderlal Hospital (S.S.H.), Institute of Medical Sciences (I.M.S.), BHU, Varanasi, India, were recorded in a prespecified pro forma.
A total of 1,567 patients attended the TNCO OPD over 90 days. The average patient attendance was 35 per day, and 72% were males. Out of these, 77% of patients were from the same district, and the majority of patients (68%) were regularly followed up in-person by the neurology OPD. The most common illness for consultation was epilepsy (19%) followed by low backache and stroke (18% each). The satisfaction rate among the patients with respect to teleservices was high (90%).
TNCO seems to be as effective as in-person OPD in the management of neurological disorders. During the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, avoiding physical visits through TNCO may reduce the spread of the virus. Parallel tele-OPD with routine OPD is a good option in the future.
在当前 2019 冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行期间，全球采取了保持社交距离的措施，以防止病毒传播。为了确保社交距离和限制行动，其中一项措施是全国封锁，以阻断传播链。远程医疗是向偏远服务不足地区提供医疗服务的一种具有成本效益的措施。
本研究旨在评估远程咨询作为替代当面咨询的方法，在 COVID-19 大流行期间全国封锁期间为神经科患者提供持续医疗服务的效果和可接受性。
在印度贝拿勒斯印度教大学 Sunderlal 纪念医院（S.S.H.）医学科学研究所（I.M.S.）的远程神经病学咨询（TNCO）门诊，记录患者的临床人口统计学特征、不同神经疾病的频率以及治疗细节，记录在预先规定的表格中。
在 90 天内，共有 1567 名患者参加了 TNCO 门诊。平均每天有 35 名患者就诊，其中 72%是男性。在这些患者中，77%来自同一地区，大多数患者（68%）定期在神经科门诊接受当面随访。最常见的咨询疾病是癫痫（19%），其次是下腰痛和中风（各占 18%）。患者对远程服务的满意度很高（90%）。
TNCO 在管理神经科疾病方面似乎与当面门诊一样有效。在 COVID-19 大流行期间的封锁期间，通过 TNCO 避免身体就诊可能会减少病毒的传播。与常规门诊并行的远程门诊是未来的一个很好的选择。
