title: Tourette Syndrome: a general pediatrician's 35-year experience at a single center with follow-up in adulthood.
abstract: A retrospective analysis of a 35-year single-center experience with pediatric tics and Tourette syndrome was conducted. 482 charts from 1972 to 2007 were reviewed. Follow-up surveys were mailed to last known address and 83 patients responded (17%). Response rate was affected by long interval from last visit; contact information was often incorrect as it was the address of the patient as a child. Males constituted 84%. Mean tic onset was 6.6 years. At first visit, 83% had multiple motor tics and >50% had comorbidities. 44% required only 1 visit and 90% less than 12 visits. Follow-up showed positive clinical and social outcomes in 73/83 survey responses. Of those indicating a poor outcome, mean educational level was lower and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities were significantly higher. Access to knowledgeable caregivers was a problem for adult patients. A shortage of specialists may in part be addressed by interested general pediatricians.
authors.affiliation: Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA dbyler@hmc.psu.edu.
authors.forename: Debra L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Byler
authors.affiliation: Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lehman
authors.affiliation: Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Ashley D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Syeda
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.affiliation: Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Cheston
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Berlin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013981:Tic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D005879:Tourette Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Tourette syndrome; outcome; tics