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An Analysis of Public Interest in Elective Neurosurgical Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic Through Online Search Engine Trends.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Feng, AY; Garcia, CA; Jin, MC; Ho, AL; Li, G; Grant, G; Ratliff, J; Skirboll, SL
Published in: World Neurosurg
April 2021

OBJECTIVE: In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has recommended the temporary cessation of all elective surgeries. The effects on patients' interest of elective neurosurgical procedures are currently unexplored. METHODS: Using Google Trends, search terms of 7 different neurosurgical procedure categories (trauma, spine, tumor, movement disorder, epilepsy, endovascular, and miscellaneous) were assessed in terms of relative search volume (RSV) between January 2015 and September 2020. Analyses of search terms were performed for over the short term (February 18, 2020, to April 18, 2020), intermediate term (January 1, 2020, to May 31, 2020), and long term (January 2015 to September 2020). State-level interest during phase I reopening (April 28, 2020, to May 31, 2020) was also evaluated. RESULTS: In the short term, RSVs of 4 categories (epilepsy, movement disorder, spine, and tumor) were significantly lower in the post-CMS announcement period. In the intermediate term, RSVs of 5 categories (miscellaneous, epilepsy, movement disorder, spine, and tumor) were significantly lower in the post-CMS announcement period. In the long term, RSVs of nearly all categories (endovascular, epilepsy, miscellaneous, movement disorder, spine, and tumor) were significantly lower in the post-CMS announcement period. Only the movement disorder procedure category had significantly higher RSV in states that reopened early. CONCLUSIONS: With the recommendation for cessation of elective surgeries, patient interests in overall elective neurosurgical procedures have dropped significantly. With gradual reopening, there has been a resurgence in some procedure types. Google Trends has proven to be a useful tracker of patient interest and may be used by neurosurgical departments to facilitate outreach strategies.

Duke Scholars

Published In

World Neurosurg

DOI

EISSN

1878-8769

Publication Date

April 2021

Volume

148

Start / End Page

e282 / e293

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Spinal Diseases
  • Search Engine
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Prosthesis Implantation
  • Neurosurgical Procedures
  • Movement Disorders
  • Internet
  • Information Seeking Behavior
  • Humans
  • Epilepsy
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Feng, A. Y., Garcia, C. A., Jin, M. C., Ho, A. L., Li, G., Grant, G., … Skirboll, S. L. (2021). An Analysis of Public Interest in Elective Neurosurgical Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic Through Online Search Engine Trends. World Neurosurg, 148, e282–e293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2020.12.143
Feng, Austin Y., Cesar A. Garcia, Michael C. Jin, Allen L. Ho, Gordon Li, Gerald Grant, John Ratliff, and Stephen L. Skirboll. “An Analysis of Public Interest in Elective Neurosurgical Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic Through Online Search Engine Trends.World Neurosurg 148 (April 2021): e282–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2020.12.143.
Feng AY, Garcia CA, Jin MC, Ho AL, Li G, Grant G, et al. An Analysis of Public Interest in Elective Neurosurgical Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic Through Online Search Engine Trends. World Neurosurg. 2021 Apr;148:e282–93.
Feng, Austin Y., et al. “An Analysis of Public Interest in Elective Neurosurgical Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic Through Online Search Engine Trends.World Neurosurg, vol. 148, Apr. 2021, pp. e282–93. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2020.12.143.
Feng AY, Garcia CA, Jin MC, Ho AL, Li G, Grant G, Ratliff J, Skirboll SL. An Analysis of Public Interest in Elective Neurosurgical Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic Through Online Search Engine Trends. World Neurosurg. 2021 Apr;148:e282–e293.
Journal cover image

Published In

World Neurosurg

DOI

EISSN

1878-8769

Publication Date

April 2021

Volume

148

Start / End Page

e282 / e293

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Spinal Diseases
  • Search Engine
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Prosthesis Implantation
  • Neurosurgical Procedures
  • Movement Disorders
  • Internet
  • Information Seeking Behavior
  • Humans
  • Epilepsy