Efficacy of a multidisciplinary treatment program on one-year outcomes of individuals with Parkinson's disease.
The efficacy of the multidisciplinary treatment approach to the management of Parkinson's disease (PD) was examined at a regional Veteran's Administration Parkinson's Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center (PADRECC). The records of 43 consecutive individuals with PD were examined. The Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) was employed to assess disease progression. Changes between initial and one-year follow-up UPDRS motor functioning (Part III) scores were compared to expected disease progression from prior research. In this cohort, thirty patients (69.8%) had improved, 2 were unchanged (4.7%) and 11 patients (25.6%) had worsened at the mean 12.2-month follow-up period. The range of multidisciplinary interventions included neurology (100%), physiatrist (93%), and psychology (41.9%) visits, medication changes (60.5%), rehabilitation therapy (62.8%), functional diagnostic testing (16.3%), support group (9.3%), home exercise programs (86%), and disease and wellness education (83.7%). Statistical analyses of the individual components of the program did not demonstrate significant differences between improvers and non-improvers. Clinical implications and study limitations are discussed.
Carne
William
W
Southeast PADRECC, McGuire VAMC, Richmond, VA 23249, USA. William.Carne@med.va.gov
Cifu
David
D
Marcinko
Paul
P
Pickett
Treven
T
Baron
Mark
M
Qutubbudin
Abu
A
Calabrese
Vincent
V
Roberge
Peggy
P
Holloway
Kathryn
K
Mutchler
Brian
B
D000368:Aged; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D010348:Patient Care Team; D016896:Treatment Outcome