Looking back. The beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic seem so long ago. Looking back at the early days of the pandemic from May 2022 may not seem to provide much information. Now that we are more than two years into the pandemic, our understanding, management, and treatment of COVID-19 has significantly evolved. So why would it be important to look back at what happened in the very early stages, especially when we consider pediatric neurological disorders? In brief, examining the early stages of the pandemic can provide insights into the robustness of child neurology care amid a crisis. In a recent publication, we did just this. Using data from more than 27,000 patients in seven pediatric tertiary care centers, we looked back at what happened to hospital-based child neurology care in the first six weeks of the Shelter-in-Place orders aka the “shutdown”. The results were disturbing. Even for child neurology emergencies, we found more than a 50% reduction of hospital admissions. In this blog post, we would like to review how the initial shutdown shook the foundations of child neurology. Continue reading →