Experience of South American MS and/or NMOSD experts in practice during the COVID-19 pandemic: Focus on Telemedicine

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way to manage MS and NMOSD, not only concerning treatment, but also regarding social distance and the increasing use of telemedicine (TM) to minimize the risk of infection. Currently, there is no data regarding TM among MS and NMOSD South American experts.

Objective: To investigate TM experiences from South American MS and/or NMOSD experts in the follow-up of their patients focusing on TM.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed. 141 MS and/or NMOSD experts from Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Brazil were invited to answer an web-based survey.

Results: A total of 129 (91.48 %) experts completed the survey. Only 19.4% had experience in TM previous COVID-19 pandemic, while 79.8% are currently using TM, most using video call (52.3%). Using TM, 44.1% of the experts were able to perform neurological examination, 85.6% believed to be able to identify a relapse, 48.6% use Patient Determined Disease Steps and 38.7% kept using the conventional Expanded Disability Status Scale.

Conclusion: Our survey demonstrates preparedness and responsiveness among South American MS and/or NMOSD experts. Despite scarce prior TM experience, most experts felt confident to use TM as a new tool for monitoring their patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; Multiple sclerosis; Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders; Telemedicine.