Omicron [Neurosurgery Wiki]

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====== Omicron ======

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🧬 Omicron Variant and Neurosurgery: Practical Insights

🔹 1. Omicron’s Clinical Profile
High [[transmissibility]], but generally causes milder illness compared to previous variants (e.g., Delta).

Shorter [[incubation]] period (~2-3 days).

Fewer cases requiring ICU or mechanical ventilation, but sheer case volume still strained hospitals.

Less frequent loss of smell/taste, more upper airway symptoms (sore throat, congestion).

🔹 2. Surgical Protocol Adjustments (Omicron Wave)
Elective surgeries resumed earlier compared to previous waves, thanks to:

High levels of vaccination and natural immunity.

Lower ICU occupancy per case.

Continued:

Pre-op PCR or antigen testing, though some centers reduced it depending on local policy.

N95 masking and PPE, especially during high community transmission.

🔹 3. Impact on Neurosurgical Services
Staffing shortages from widespread mild illness among healthcare workers.

Shorter isolation times allowed faster return to work, but still disrupted rotas.

Patient no-shows and delayed presentation increased for both elective and semi-urgent cases.

🔹 4. Specific Neurosurgical Risks
Endonasal surgery remained higher risk due to viral load in the nasal cavity, even in Omicron.

Patients with neuro-oncology needs or chronic neurosurgical disorders (e.g., hydrocephalus, spine disorders) still faced care delays, with indirect morbidity.

🔹 5. Neuro-COVID with Omicron?
Fewer reports of severe neurological manifestations (e.g., stroke, encephalopathy) compared to Delta.

Possible explanations:

Less systemic inflammation.

Higher prior immunity in the population.

Still, cases of long COVID and cognitive fog persisted.

🔹 6. Teaching and Recovery Phase
Omicron helped normalize surgical training, simulation, and resident rotations.

Return to hybrid models of education, mixing on-site and remote learning.

Growing focus on resilient systems, infection control, and digital tools.