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Disabling neurological syndromes: prevalence amongst hospitalized neurological patients
Author(s) -
Nowotny M.,
Dachenhausen A.,
Matz K.,
Brainin M.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
european journal of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.881
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1468-1331
pISSN - 1351-5101
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2006.01413.x
Subject(s) - medicine , neuropsychology , population , pediatrics , physical therapy , neurological disorder , rehabilitation , physical medicine and rehabilitation , psychiatry , cognition , central nervous system disease , environmental health
Neurological patient populations are usually described by diagnosis or in terms of functional disability measures but rarely by their clinical syndromes. A point‐prevalence study was conducted assessing 349 neurological inpatients to determine the frequency and co‐occurrence of disabling neurological syndromes, considering a wider spectrum including pain, emotional, neuropsychological, vegetative and sensorimotor syndromes. Of the study patients, 61% ( n = 224) had sensorimotor syndromes, 53% ( n = 185) had neuropsychological disorders, 40% ( n = 139) of the patients suffered from pain, emotional disorders were found in 36% ( n = 122) and vegetative disorders in 33% ( n = 113). Although frequency varied by neurological diagnosis, these disabling conditions were found across all inpatient groups of diagnosis. Similarly, disorders outside the motor domains grouped according to their Barthel Index showed a striking frequency in patients considered as activities of daily living independent, reflecting a wider spectrum of disability that functional measures are not able to capture. Of the study population, 68% ( n = 237) suffered from co‐occurring disorders from different categories (pain, emotional, neuropsychological, vegetative and sensorimotor syndromes). There is a high prevalence and co‐occurrence of disabling syndromes in neurological inpatients. These proportions reflect the neurological workload in a patient population and should be considered in future rehabilitation research and allocation of resources.