Iranian Journal of Neurosurgery

en The Attitude of Neurosurgeons Toward Telemedicine During COVID-19 Pandemic Basic Neurosurgery Research <div style="text-align: justify;">Background and Aim: Telemedicine can be considered a primary modality of patient care for non-emergent conditions in the COVID-19 era. The usage and expansion of telemedicine are important and inevitable issues. We decided to investigate the neurosurgeons’ perspective on telemedicine in the treatment and follow-up of neurosurgical patients during the COVID-19 period. Methods and Materials/Patients: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Neurosurgery, Tehran, from June 2021 to July 2021. An internet-based questionnaire was distributed among all postgraduate and assistant neurosurgeons at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Statistical analysis was performed using SPPS (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 24.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp; 2016). Results: This study was performed among 74 neurosurgeons who were mainly male (89.2%). Their mean age was 33.16±5.69 years (ranging from 27 to 62 years), and telemedicine has not been used previously in 37 precipitants (50%). Most precipitants preferred telemedicine for follow-up (93.24%). The common reasons for unimplemented telemedicine were determined by insurance and repayment obstacles (58.11%). Most of the participants believed that telemedicine should first be adapted to working condition and local setting, then it can be applied more in the future. Eventually, the effectiveness of telemedicine was controversial, according to most neurosurgeons’ replies. Conclusion: This study indicated neurosurgeons’ preference for telemedicine. They considered it a comfortable alternative. However, the effectiveness of telemedicine is controversial as it should be adapted first and then used extensively for future purposes. It is also suggested that future studies compare the results of this research with those of studies performed after the COVID-19 outbreak. </div> COVID-19, Neurologic examination, Telehealth, Telemedicine 32 37 http://irjns.org/browse.php?a_code=A-10-520-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Hannan Ebrahimi Ebrahimi.hannan@gmail.com 100319475328460011226 100319475328460011226 No Department of Neurosurgery, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Hesam Azimi Azimih84@yahoo.com 100319475328460011227 100319475328460011227 No Department of Neurosurgery, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Zahra Kolahchi Kolahchi.zahra@gmail.com 100319475328460011228 100319475328460011228 No Department of Neurosurgery, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran Zeinab Gholami Zeinab.gholamy@yahoo.com 100319475328460011229 100319475328460011229 No Department of Neurosurgery, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Shahin Nasseri Nasseri.shahin@gmail.com 100319475328460011230 100319475328460011230 No Department of Neurosurgery, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Maryam Adib Maryam.adib50@gmail.com 100319475328460011231 100319475328460011231 No Department of Biomedical Engineering, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Abbas Amirjamshidi abamirjamshidi@yahoo.com 100319475328460011232 100319475328460011232 No Department of Neurosurgery, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Shirani Bidabadi drmshirani@yahoo.com 100319475328460011233 100319475328460011233 No Department of Neurosurgery, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran Ahmad Pour-Rashidi ahmadpourrashidi89@gmail.com 100319475328460011234 100319475328460011234 Yes Department of Neurosurgery, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran