Disabling neurological syndromes: prevalence amongst hospitalized neurological patients.
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.
Nowotny
M
M
Centre for Postgraduate Studies in Neurosciences, Danube University, Maria Gugging, Austria.
Dachenhausen
A
A
Matz
K
K
Brainin
M
M
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*