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Prevalence of gait disorders in hospitalized neurological patients
Author(s) -
Stolze Henning,
Klebe Stephan,
Baecker Christoph,
Zechlin Christiane,
Friege Lars,
Pohle Sabine,
Deuschl Günther
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
movement disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.352
H-Index - 198
eISSN - 1531-8257
pISSN - 0885-3185
DOI - 10.1002/mds.20266
Subject(s) - gait , medicine , gait disturbance , neurology , dementia , disease , physical medicine and rehabilitation , movement disorders , physical therapy , neurological disorder , parkinson's disease , stroke (engine) , pediatrics , central nervous system disease , psychiatry , mechanical engineering , engineering
The prevalence of gait disorders among neurological inpatients is unknown, although disturbed gait is a common symptom. Gait disorders often lead to loss of independence with restraints for the patients and caregivers and costs for the health system. We designed a prospective study and investigated all patients admitted to a neurological hospital during a 100‐day period for the presence of a gait disorder. Clinical investigation and several disease‐specific rating scales were carried out for 493 patients. In 60% of the patients, a disturbance of gait was diagnosed. Most frequent diagnoses were stroke (21%), Parkinson's disease (17%), and polyneuropathy (7%). Within these diagnoses, the rate of patients with disturbed gait was high in Parkinson's disease (93%), subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy (85%), and motor neuron disease (83%). Advanced age, dementia, alcohol abuse, and treatment with antiepileptics, neuroleptics, benzodiazepines, and chemotherapeutics were identified as risk factors for a gait disorder. A decline of cognitive function was accompanied by a reduction of walking speed. According to these results, gait disorders are among the most frequent symptoms in neurology. © 2004 Movement Disorder Society