Desai Virendra R, Grossen Audrey, Vuong Huy Gia, Hopkins Nicholas, Peters Mikayla, Jea Andrew
J Neurosurg Pediatr. 2022 Aug 26;30(5):525-531. doi: 10.3171/2022.7.PEDS22173. Print 2022 Nov 1.
COVID-19 has not only impacted healthcare systems directly via hospitalizations and resource utilization, but also indirectly via adaptations in healthcare practice, such as the evolution of the academic environment and the rise of telemedicine and virtual education. This void in clinical responsibilities has been filled with academic productivity in various fields. In this study the authors investigate the influence of COVID-19 on the academic focus within pediatric neurosurgery.
All data were obtained from the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics (JNS Peds). The number of submissions for each month from January 2017 to December 2021 was collected. Data including number of publications, publication level of evidence (LOE), and COVID-19-related articles were collected and verified. Each publication was categorized by manuscript and LOE according to adaptations from the Canadian Task Force on Periodic Health Examination. Publication groups were categorized as pre-COVID-19 (January 2017-February 2020), peri-COVID-19 (March 2020-July 2020), and post-COVID-19 (August 2020-December 2021). Statistical analysis was performed to compare pre-COVID-19, peri-COVID-19, and post-COVID-19 academic volume and quality.
During the study time period, a total of 3116 submissions and 997 publications were identified for JNS Peds. Only 2 articles specifically related to COVID-19 and its impact on pediatric neurosurgery were identified, both published in 2021. When analyzing submission volume, a statistically significant increase was seen during the shutdown relative to pre-COVID-19 and post-shutdown time periods, and a significant decrease was seen post-shutdown relative to pre-COVID-19. LOE changed significantly as well. When comparing pre-COVID-19 versus post-COVID-19 articles, a statistically significant increase was identified only in level 4 publications. When analyzing pre-COVID-19 versus post-COVID-19 (2020) and post-COVID-19 (2021), a statistically significant decrease in level 3 and increases in levels 4 and 5 were identified during post-COVID-19 (2020), with a rebound increase in level 3 and a decrease in level 5 during post-COVID-19 (2021).
There was a significant increase in manuscript submission during the initial pandemic period. However, there was no change during subsequent spikes in COVID-19-related hospitalizations. Coincident with the initial surge in academic productivity, despite steady publication volume, was an inverse decline in quality as assessed by LOE.
新冠疫情不仅通过住院治疗和资源利用直接影响医疗系统，还通过医疗实践的调整间接产生影响，例如学术环境的演变以及远程医疗和虚拟教育的兴起。临床责任方面的空白已被各个领域的学术产出所填补。在本研究中，作者调查了新冠疫情对小儿神经外科领域学术重点的影响。
所有数据均来自《神经外科杂志：儿科》（JNS Peds）。收集了2017年1月至2021年12月每月的投稿数量。收集并核实了包括发表文章数量、证据发表水平（LOE）以及与新冠疫情相关文章的数据。根据加拿大定期健康检查特别工作组的调整，每篇发表文章按稿件和LOE进行分类。发表组分为新冠疫情前（2017年1月 - 2020年2月）、新冠疫情期间（2020年3月 - 2020年7月）和新冠疫情后（2020年8月 - 2021年12月）。进行统计分析以比较新冠疫情前、期间和后的学术数量和质量。
在研究期间，JNS Peds共收到3116份投稿，发表了997篇文章。仅发现2篇专门与新冠疫情及其对小儿神经外科的影响相关的文章，均发表于2021年。在分析投稿数量时，相对于新冠疫情前和停工后时期，停工期间出现了统计学上的显著增加，而停工后相对于新冠疫情前则出现了显著下降。LOE也有显著变化。在比较新冠疫情前与后文章时，仅在4级发表文章中发现了统计学上的显著增加。在分析新冠疫情前与后（2020年）以及后（2021年）时，在新冠疫情后（2020年）期间发现3级文章显著减少，4级和5级文章增加，而在新冠疫情后（2021年）期间3级文章反弹增加，5级文章减少。
在疫情初期，稿件投稿量显著增加。然而，在随后与新冠疫情相关住院人数激增期间，投稿量没有变化。与学术产出的最初激增同时出现的是，尽管发表量稳定，但根据LOE评估，质量却呈反向下降。
