Putting the patient first: Should general practitioners start people with probable Parkinson's disease on levodopa while awaiting diagnostic confirmation?

IF 1.6 4区医学 Q2 MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL

Australian Journal of General Practice Pub Date : 2025-07-01 DOI:10.31128/AJGP-07-24-7345

Pranav Singh, Jane Alty, Michele Callisaya, Lauren Giles, Frank Nicklason, Harley Stanton, Jan(ette) Radford

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Parkinson's disease poses challenges for timely diagnosis and specialist care, particularly in rural areas.

Objective: This paper aims to assist general practitioners (GPs) who wish to collaborate with their patient with probable Parkinson's disease to improve access to appropriate medication when there might be a delay in obtaining a confirmatory diagnosis from a Parkinson's disease specialist. The feasibility and rationale for commencing levodopa as well as an approach to initiating and monitoring its response are discussed. The importance of educating patients and caregivers, encouraging exercise and building a multidisciplinary team to optimise care is also discussed.

Discussion: The literature supports early levodopa initiation in probable Parkinson's disease to improve a patient's quality of life. The presented approach offers GPs effective management strategies that enhance patient care and mitigate the risks of delayed treatment.

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把病人放在第一位：全科医生是否应该在等待诊断确认的同时让可能患有帕金森病的人服用左旋多巴？

背景：帕金森病对及时诊断和专科护理提出了挑战，特别是在农村地区。目的：本文旨在帮助全科医生（全科医生）谁希望与可能患有帕金森病的病人合作，以改善获得适当的药物治疗，当有可能延迟获得帕金森病专家的确诊。讨论了开始使用左旋多巴的可行性和理由，以及启动和监测其反应的方法。此外，还讨论了教育患者和护理人员、鼓励锻炼和建立多学科团队以优化护理的重要性。讨论：文献支持在可能的帕金森病患者早期开始左旋多巴以改善患者的生活质量。提出的方法提供全科医生有效的管理策略，提高病人的护理和减轻延迟治疗的风险。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Australian Journal of General Practice Medicine-Family Practice

CiteScore

2.80

自引率

4.50%

发文量

284

期刊介绍： The Australian Journal of General Practice (AJGP) aims to provide relevant, evidence-based, clearly articulated information to Australian general practitioners (GPs) to assist them in providing the highest quality patient care, applicable to the varied geographic and social contexts in which GPs work and to all GP roles as clinician, researcher, educator, practice team member and opinion leader. All articles are subject to peer review before they are accepted for publication.