LAUSR

Italy was the first nation in Europe to be affected by COVID19 pandemic, and it was subjected to a level 1 national lockdown for almost 2 months (fromMarch 9 toMay 4, 2020) [1]. During the mandatory lockdown, 29,684 deaths due to COVID-19 were registered, 23,163 of which (78%) were in four Northern regions: Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Piedmont, and Veneto [2]. This health emergency highlighted the imbalance existing between the needs of individuals (prevention, diagnosis, treatment) and available resources (services, supplies, professionals, and research). In particular, the reorganization of health services and the social distancing measures implemented to contain the spread of the SARSCoV-2, together with people’s fears of being infected and the lack of targeted information campaigns, have led to a series of consequences for both patients and their families. As far as the neurological field is concerned, the impact of this “healthcare void” has been particularly remarkable for people suffering from chronic neurological conditions, as well as for those with neurological emergencies, and has resulted in worse health outcomes. In some instances, the criteria adopted for the allocation of health resources during the COVID-19 pandemic have penalized patients with neurological diseases [3]. Within the context of a service transformed by the pandemic health emergency, there is a need to adapt triage protocols to consider distributive justice when the “ordinary” criteria can no longer guarantee the best possible allocation. Such “extraordinary” triage protocols, specific to each neurological