Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis & frontotemporal degeneration
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Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener · Nov 2020
Telemedicine is a useful tool to deliver care to patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis during COVID-19 pandemic: results from Southern Italy.
Teleneurology is an effective tool for the rapid evaluation of patients in remote locations with a well-established use in stroke and epilepsy. To date its adoption for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) care is still in a preliminary stage. We evaluated the feasibility of multidisciplinary assessment of patients with ALS, using telememedicine during the emergency determined by the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ Notably, none of the patients presented index symptoms of Covid-19 infection. Conclusion: Our study indicates that telemedicine is a valid tool to triage patients with ALS to increase practice outreach and efficiency. Delivery of care via telemedicine was effective and successful in people with ALS in the dramatic and sudden crisis determined by Covid-19 outbreak.
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Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener · Nov 2020
Differentiating needs of informal caregivers of individuals with ALS across the caregiving course: a systematic review.
Informal caregivers of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) experience a range of needs across the course of the disease. For the provision of adequate support, an examination of the empirical evidence is necessary. ⋯ Healthcare professionals need to pay attention to current caregiving stages to provide support for informal caregivers. Further research is needed to tease out support needs for the bereavement phase.