Multiple sclerosis patients' journey delay in diagnosis and treatment: a multicenter study.

IF 2.2 3区 医学 Q3 CLINICAL NEUROLOGY
Salma Ragab, Basem Hamdy Fouda, Abdallah-Almamun Sarhan, Azza Abbas, Asmaa Mohamed Hassan, Ahmed Embaby, Noha Ali Hashim
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective: To determine factors that contribute to delayed diagnosis and treatment of MS patients. Additionally, the study aimed to evaluate the correlation between diagnostic and therapeutic delay and disease outcome.

Methods: The current cohort observational multicenter study was performed at neurology clinics in four cities in Egypt. In this study, 239 MS patients were enrolled. Multiple Sclerosis Severity Scale (MSSS) and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) were utilized to measure disease severity and disability, respectively. Lag times for diagnosis were calculated in months from the time of the first symptoms to the accurate diagnosis.

Results: The results revealed that multiple important variables had a negative impact on the timely diagnosis, including the clinical type, as PPMS had longer delayed diagnoses versus RRMS/SPMS (p < 0.001). Conversely, the occurrence of sensory symptoms at disease onset is linked to prolonged diagnostic delay (p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression showed that young age, PPMS, and sensory symptoms were independently associated with delay in MS diagnosis. Patients initially sought medical assistance from ophthalmologists and neurologists, resulting in a significantly more delay in diagnosis (p < 0.001). A statistically positive correlation exists between the time for diagnosis and deterioration of MS assessed by EDSS, MSSS, or PI (p < 0.001). In addition, logistic regression analysis demonstrated that EDSS at diagnosis, delayed diagnosis, and illness duration were independently linked to MS severity (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Many factors prolong the duration of MS diagnosis, including the age at disease onset, the delay in being referred from other medical specialties, and the presence of sensory symptoms at disease onset. Furthermore, MS delayed diagnosis and treatment leads to high disease disability with poor functional outcomes.

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多发性硬化症患者的诊断和治疗延误:一项多中心研究。
目的:探讨导致多发性硬化症患者延误诊断和治疗的因素。此外,本研究旨在评估诊断和治疗延迟与疾病结局之间的相关性。方法:目前的队列观察性多中心研究在埃及四个城市的神经病学诊所进行。在这项研究中,239名MS患者入组。采用多发性硬化严重程度量表(MSSS)和扩展残疾状态量表(EDSS)分别测量疾病严重程度和残疾程度。诊断滞后时间以月为单位计算,从出现首次症状到准确诊断。结果:多个重要变量对MS的及时诊断有负面影响,包括临床类型,因为PPMS比RRMS/SPMS的诊断延迟更长(p)结论:许多因素延长了MS的诊断时间,包括发病年龄、从其他医学专业转诊的延迟以及发病时出现感觉症状。此外,MS延迟诊断和治疗导致疾病致残率高,功能预后差。
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
BMC Neurology
BMC Neurology 医学-临床神经学
CiteScore
4.20
自引率
0.00%
发文量
428
审稿时长
3-8 weeks
期刊介绍: BMC Neurology is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of the prevention, diagnosis and management of neurological disorders, as well as related molecular genetics, pathophysiology, and epidemiology.
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