The impact of CoViD-19 on the hospital activities: the case of the Neurosurgery Department of “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d'Aragona” University Hospital

Background. The CoViD-19 pandemic has hit the public health system in many nations hard. The long incubation period, the high infectious rate, the varied manifestation and the lack of effective treatment make managing the transmission of the disease difficult. For this reason, the health focus has been shifted to its management, thus limiting the activity carried out by surgical specialties. In neurosurgery, the complexity and importance of treatments in some cases requires timely intervention that cannot be delayed. Methods. In this study, the demographic and activity data of patients discharged from the Complex Operative Units (COU) of Neurosurgery and Neurosurgical Clinic of the "San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d'Aragona" University Hospital of Salerno (Italy) in the years 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2020 (during the pandemic) were analyzed using statistical test and logistic regression. Results. Both statistical tests and logistic regression showed a significant increase in the weight of the Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) obtained from the COUs, demonstrating an improvement in the appropriateness of the services provided. Conclusion. This work demonstrates how a more consistent use of the hospital due to fear and containment measures has improved the performance of the COU.