key: cord-0975818-5oehzarg
authors: Skoloudik, David; Mijajlovic, Milija
title: Neurosonology during the COVID‐19 pandemic (Editorial commentary from the chairs of the ultrasound panel of the EAN)
date: 2020-06-19
journal: Eur J Neurol
DOI: 10.1111/ene.14410
sha: bb31d1a53f3e37680d1c7afe559226bf78b7daff
doc_id: 975818
cord_uid: 5oehzarg

The COVID‐19 pandemic is seriously affecting the lives of billions of people around the world, especially in the healthcare systems.(1) Although the impact of pandemic on health services are mostly negative, there is still a chance to use this situation as an opportunity for positive changes. Neurosonological examination involves direct contact between the patient and the sonographer, often for several tens of minutes.

PROF. DAVID SKOLOUDIK (Orcid ID : 0000-0002-2651-3424)

The COVID-19 pandemic is seriously affecting the lives of billions of people around the world, especially in the healthcare systems. 1 Although the impact of pandemic on health services are mostly negative, there is still a chance to use this situation as an opportunity for positive changes.

Neurosonological examination involves direct contact between the patient and the sonographer, often for several tens of minutes. Thus, this examination should be included in procedures with a potentially high risk of COVID-19 transmission. 

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved Nevertheless, the correct assessment of neurosonological examination is not only a question of image evaluation as in the other neuroimaging methods but it is "state-of-art" highly dependent on sonographer experience 10 . Thus, the hands-on courses are necessary to provide adequate education and practice to neurosonographers. The COVID-19 pandemic has also seriously affected these educational activities. It is an urgent challenge for authorities (ESNCH, European Academy of Neurology Scientific Panel on Neurosonology and Neurosonology Speciality Group of the World Federation of Neurology) to create a suitable, safe, effective and modern system of neurosonology education able to protect participants, but to continuously deliver up-to-date neurosonology information.

Facing COVID-19 pandemic, currently various new digital educational concepts are developed for distance learning and we should therefore share these broad experiences for future courses, but this is yet another demanding task for neurosonology community. It is an ultimate goal to increase the use of interactive videoconferencing in the remote neurosonology education as well as in the delivery of acute stroke care, known as telestroke/teleneurosonology, also feasible and very efficient during the crisis. Among the first steps, sonographers should complete infection-control and protection training using these interactive remote modalities.

Major goal of all relevant recommendations of neurosonology societies or authorities is to protect both patients and sonographers but keeping a high attention on stroke as an emergency condition always strictly adhering to treatment guidelines for patients to ensure appropriate stroke care. The introduction of published recommendations into the clinical practice may also mitigate negative effects of new pandemics in the future.

World Health Organization Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Available at www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel