Online Consultation as A Rescue Measure for Children with Neurological and Neurodevelopmental Disorders in the COVID-19 Era

Background: A covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented event, which has a profound impact on the lives of children with neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders besides other people. In Bangladesh, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on children with neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders have not been adequately studied. Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to assess the diseases status of children with neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods: This voluntary prospective observational study was conducted during the period from June 2020 to August 2020 with an attachment of the department Paediatric Neuroscience, Bangladesh Shishu Hospital & Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Neurogen Health Care, Dhaka, Bangladesh. A total of 78 children with at least one symptom of neurological and/or neurodevelopmental disorders were included as the study subjects of this study. Both previously diagnosed and newly recruited patients were accumulated as the study subjects. Both physical and online (With telephonic communication) consultation and follow-up were arranged for all the patients during the study period. All data were collected, processed, and analyzed by using MS Office and SPSS version 23 programs as per need. Results: In this study, the mean (±SD) age of the participants was 9.87±2.59 years. The male-female ratio was 1.4:1. The majority of the participants were from rural areas (55) and only 2 were from Covid-19 affected. About half of the participants (49%) were with epilepsy. Besides this, ‘impairment in social interaction, communication and behavior problem’, CP with global developmental delay, syndromic child, and ‘hyperactivity and inattention were found in 22%, 13%, 10%, and 6% participants respectively. The majority of the patients (53%) of this study were under antiepileptic therapies. Besides this, 9%, 13%, 5%, 14%, and 6% of participants were taking Immunosuppressive therapies, physical or occupational therapies, psychotherapy, combination therapy, and some other therapies respectively. Conclusion: Epilepsy is the most common disorder among children with neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders who saught for online consultation. Online consultation followed by subsequent physical consultation may be considered as an effective approach in managing patients with neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders during any pandemic situation like Covid-19.