Involuntary ambulatory triage during the COVID-19 pandemic – A neurosurgical perspective

BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses an unprecedented challenge to health-care systems around the world. As approximately one-third of the world´s population is living under "lockdown" conditions, medical resources are being reallocated and hospital admissions are limited to emergencies. We examined the decision-making impact of these actions and their effects on access to hospital treatment in patients with neurosurgical conditions.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study analyzes hospital admissions of two major neurosurgical services in Germany during the nationwide lockdown period (March 16th to April 16th, 2020). Spinal or cranial conditions requiring immediat…