Time interval to definite diagnosis of Parkinsonism

El Dien Hassanien, Yahya M. T.; El-Gammal, Nageh F.; Ali, Amal M.

doi:10.4103/JCMRP.JCMRP_75_18

Time interval to definite diagnosis of Parkinsonism

Authors

Abstract

Background
Parkinsonism is a clinical syndrome characterized by tremors rigidity, bradykinesia, and postural instability. Over the past decade there has been an increasing recognition of the broad clinical presentations of the neurodegenerative forms of Parkinsonism. Nonmotor symptoms in these diseases, including psychiatric, cognitive, autonomic, and gastrointestinal dysfunction, appear to have a major impact on quality of life and disability.
Aim of the study
The aim of this study is to detect the time lapse till definite diagnosis of Parkinsonism and possible etiologies and social factors that cause prolongation of that time in a hospital based study.
Patient and methods
We studied 80 patients with definite diagnosis of parkinsonism with specific questionnaire designed to detect the cause of delayed diagnosis applied for two weeks on a sample of patients in our department.
Results
Median time from the first symptom till the first medical contact was 4 months with range between 1 and 12 months. It was noticed that duration from the first medical contact till definite diagnosis was significantly shorter in those who had neurological consultation as the first contact.
Conclusion
Patient knowledge about Parkinsonism plays a major role in early diagnosis; most patients did not immediately recognize that their symptoms could be part of a disease.

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