Discrimination of residents during neurosurgical training in Mexico: Results of a survey prior to SARS-CoV-2.

BACKGROUND: Recent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic represents an important negative impact on global training of neurosurgery residents. Even before the pandemic, discrimination is a challenge that neurosurgical residents have consistently faced. In the present study, we evaluated discriminatory conditions experienced by residents during their neurosurgical training in Mexico before the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. METHODS: An electronic survey of 18 questions was sent among residents registered in the Mexican Society of Neurological Surgery (MSNS), between October 2019 and July 2020. Statistical analysis was made in IBM SPSS Statistics 25. The survey focused on demographic characteristics, discrimination, personal satisfaction, and expectations of residents. RESULTS: A response rate of 50% (132 of 264 residents' members of MSNS) was obtained and considered for analysis. Median age was 30.06 ± 2.48 years, 5.3% (n = 7) were female and 16.7% (n = 22) were foreigners undergoing neurosurgical training in Mexico. Approximately 27% of respondents suffered any form of discrimination, mainly by place of origin (9.1%), by gender (8.3%) or by physical appearance (6.1%). About 42.9% (n = 3) of female residents were discriminated by gender versus 6.4% (n = 8) of male residents (P = 0.001); while foreign residents mentioned having suffered 10 times more an event of discrimination by place of origin compared to native Mexican residents (36.4% vs. 3.6%, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This manuscript represents the first approximation to determine the impact of discrimination suffered by residents undergoing neurosurgical training in Mexico before the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Hydrocephalus in Mexican children with Coccidioidal Meningitis: Clinical, serological, and neuroimaging findings.

BACKGROUND: Coccidioidal meningitis (CM) is a fungal infectious disease that rarely affects children. Even in endemic areas, coccidiomycosis rarely affects the pediatric population. However, 40% of affected children develop hydrocephalus. Here, we describe the clinical, serological, and neuroimaging findings in a series of Mexican children admitted to our neurosurgical service with hydrocephalus and subsequently diagnosed with CM. METHODS: We report a prospective series of pediatric patients with hydrocephalus secondary to CM in an endemic area at the north of Mexico. Our report includes children with CM who were hospitalized from 2015 to 2019 in a regional hospital in Torreón, Coahuila. Clinical evolution was monitored for 1 year after hospital discharge. RESULTS: Our series include five children with CM (2-17-years-old, three female), who were hospitalized for hydrocephalus and developed intracranial hypertension. The most frequent neuroimaging findings were leptomeningeal enhancement (5/5) and basal arachnoiditis (4/5), followed by asymmetric hydrocephalus (3/5), abnormalities in fourth ventricle morphology (3/5), and cerebral vasculitis (2/5). CM was diagnosed by positive serology or pathology studies. All children were initially managed with fluconazole and a shunt was placed for management of hydrocephalus. Four patients recovered without permanent neurological deficits and one subject developed persistent vegetative state. One year after hospital discharge, none of the subjects died. CONCLUSION: This series contributes to the limited number of pediatric CM cases reported in the literature, and describes neuroimaging findings in the pediatric population. The cases here presented show that the identification of Coccidioides as causal agent in pediatric meningitis is crucial for targeted treatment and can affect dramatically neurological prognosis. Furthermore, our report stresses that even in endemic areas pediatric coccidiomycosis represents a diagnostic challenge, which is further exacerbated by the limited availability of resources in these regions. Therefore, a positive immunoglobulin G by enzyme immunoassay is enough for diagnosis of CM in endemic areas without access to CF.

Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Working and Training Conditions of Neurosurgery Residents in Latin America and Spain.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exerted a significant impact on health care workers. Recent studies have reported the detrimental effects of the pandemic on neurosurgery residents in North America, Asia, and Italy. However, the impact of the pandemic on neurosurgical training in Latin America and Spain has not yet been reported. In the present report, we describe effects of COVID-19 on training and working conditions of neurosurgery residents in these countries. METHODS: An electronic survey with 33 questions was sent to neurosurgery residents between September 7, 2020 and October 7, 2020. Statistical analysis was made in SPSS version 25. RESULTS: A total of 293 neurosurgery residents responded. The median age was 29.47 ± 2.6 years, and 79% (n = 231) were male. Of respondents, 36.5% (n = 107) were residents training from Mexico; 42% surveyed reported COVID symptoms and 2 (0.7%) received intensive care unit care; 61.4% of residents had been tested for COVID and 21.5% had a positive result; 84% of the respondents mentioned persisted with the same workload (≥70 hours per week) during the pandemic. Most residents from Mexico were assigned to management of patients with COVID compared with the rest of the countries (88% vs. 68.3%; P < 0.001), mainly in medical care (65.4% vs. 40.9%; P < 0.001), mechanical ventilators (16.8% vs. 5.9%; P = 0.003), and neurologic surgeries (94% vs. 83%; P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: Our results offer a first glimpse of the changes imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on neurosurgical work and training in Latin America and Spain, where health systems rely strongly on a resident workforce.