Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Referrals of Patients with Cardiovascular, Diabetes Mellitus, Neurological and Neurosurgical Diseases to Hospital

Background : A novel virus from the coronavirus family, known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified in December 2019 in China. In addition to morbidity and mortality, the virus had many indirect effects on the referral and treatment of other diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases. This study aimed to investigate the referrals trend and admissions of patients to medical centers; comparing the referrals trend with the same period in the previous year.