title: Characteristics of patients found not to have multiple sclerosis.
abstract: Of 400 consecutive patients referred to Dalhousie University's multiple sclerosis research unit 52 (13%) were found not to have multiple sclerosis. Forty-one (79%) of the patients were female and 11 (21%) were male. About half of the patients had raised the suspicion of multiple sclerosis, and about half had either a medical background or a close association with a patient with the disease. Although in many cases a diagnosis was made at the initial visit, in difficult cases the most effective diagnostic technique was repeated assessment of the patient over a long period. It is important to keep an open mind when assessing patients suspected of having multiple sclerosis and to apply the recognized criteria for diagnosis of the disease.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D012737:Sex Factors