Confirming Parkinson Disease Diagnosis: Patterns of Diagnostic Changes by Movement Disorder Specialists

Background. The American Academy of Neurology Parkinson Disease (PD) quality measures include an annual diagnostic review. Objective. To investigate the frequency and pattern of changes in diagnoses between PD and other causes of parkinsonism. Methods. This prospective longitudinal cohort study incl...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marzieh Keshtkarjahromi, Danielle S. Abraham, Ann L. Gruber-Baldini, Katrina Schrader, Stephen G. Reich, Joseph M. Savitt, Rainer Von Coelln, Lisa M. Shulman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-01-01
Series:Parkinson's Disease
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/5535826
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849693520603906048
author Marzieh Keshtkarjahromi
Danielle S. Abraham
Ann L. Gruber-Baldini
Katrina Schrader
Stephen G. Reich
Joseph M. Savitt
Rainer Von Coelln
Lisa M. Shulman
author_facet Marzieh Keshtkarjahromi
Danielle S. Abraham
Ann L. Gruber-Baldini
Katrina Schrader
Stephen G. Reich
Joseph M. Savitt
Rainer Von Coelln
Lisa M. Shulman
author_sort Marzieh Keshtkarjahromi
collection DOAJ
description Background. The American Academy of Neurology Parkinson Disease (PD) quality measures include an annual diagnostic review. Objective. To investigate the frequency and pattern of changes in diagnoses between PD and other causes of parkinsonism. Methods. This prospective longitudinal cohort study included consented patients diagnosed with PD at least once and a minimum of two times at the Movement Disorders Center between 2002 and 2017. Movement disorder specialists confirmed and documented diagnoses at every visit. Longitudinal changes in diagnoses were identified across visits. Results. Of 1567 patients with parkinsonism, 174 had non-PD parkinsonism with no change over time. Of 1393 patients diagnosed with PD at least once, 94% (N = 1308) had no change of diagnosis over time and 6% (N = 85) had a change of diagnosis including PD ⟷ drug-induced parkinsonism (DIP) (27.1%), PD ⟷ multiple system atrophy (MSA) (20.0%), PD ⟷ progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) (18.8%), PD ⟷ Lewy body dementia (DLB) (16.5%), PD⟷ vascular parkinsonism (9.4%), more than two diagnoses (4.7%), and PD ⟷ corticobasal syndrome (CBS) (3.5%). The direction of diagnostic switches was as follows: PD ⟶ other parkinsonism diseases (36.5%), other parkinsonism diseases ⟶ PD (31.8%), and 31.8% of multiple switches. There were no significant differences in duration of follow-up, age at first visit, gender, race, marital status, education, income, cognition, or employment between the stable and unstable groups. Diagnostic change was associated with greater PD severity and greater medical comorbidity. Conclusion. Over a 15-year period, movement disorder specialists changed their clinical diagnosis of PD in 6% of patients. The most common diagnostic switches, to or from PD, were DIP, MSA, PSP, and DLB. This study describes routine clinical diagnostic patterns in the absence of pathologic confirmation. The presence of diverse diagnostic changes over time underscores the value of confirming PD diagnosis.
format Article
id doaj-art-301dde7d645b4209a326ae3c2a8e9d5c
institution DOAJ
issn 2042-0080
language English
publishDate 2022-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Parkinson's Disease
spelling doaj-art-301dde7d645b4209a326ae3c2a8e9d5c2025-08-20T03:20:23ZengWileyParkinson's Disease2042-00802022-01-01202210.1155/2022/5535826Confirming Parkinson Disease Diagnosis: Patterns of Diagnostic Changes by Movement Disorder SpecialistsMarzieh Keshtkarjahromi0Danielle S. Abraham1Ann L. Gruber-Baldini2Katrina Schrader3Stephen G. Reich4Joseph M. Savitt5Rainer Von Coelln6Lisa M. Shulman7MedStar HealthUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of MarylandUniversity of MarylandUniversity of MarylandUniversity of MarylandUniversity of MarylandUniversity of MarylandBackground. The American Academy of Neurology Parkinson Disease (PD) quality measures include an annual diagnostic review. Objective. To investigate the frequency and pattern of changes in diagnoses between PD and other causes of parkinsonism. Methods. This prospective longitudinal cohort study included consented patients diagnosed with PD at least once and a minimum of two times at the Movement Disorders Center between 2002 and 2017. Movement disorder specialists confirmed and documented diagnoses at every visit. Longitudinal changes in diagnoses were identified across visits. Results. Of 1567 patients with parkinsonism, 174 had non-PD parkinsonism with no change over time. Of 1393 patients diagnosed with PD at least once, 94% (N = 1308) had no change of diagnosis over time and 6% (N = 85) had a change of diagnosis including PD ⟷ drug-induced parkinsonism (DIP) (27.1%), PD ⟷ multiple system atrophy (MSA) (20.0%), PD ⟷ progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) (18.8%), PD ⟷ Lewy body dementia (DLB) (16.5%), PD⟷ vascular parkinsonism (9.4%), more than two diagnoses (4.7%), and PD ⟷ corticobasal syndrome (CBS) (3.5%). The direction of diagnostic switches was as follows: PD ⟶ other parkinsonism diseases (36.5%), other parkinsonism diseases ⟶ PD (31.8%), and 31.8% of multiple switches. There were no significant differences in duration of follow-up, age at first visit, gender, race, marital status, education, income, cognition, or employment between the stable and unstable groups. Diagnostic change was associated with greater PD severity and greater medical comorbidity. Conclusion. Over a 15-year period, movement disorder specialists changed their clinical diagnosis of PD in 6% of patients. The most common diagnostic switches, to or from PD, were DIP, MSA, PSP, and DLB. This study describes routine clinical diagnostic patterns in the absence of pathologic confirmation. The presence of diverse diagnostic changes over time underscores the value of confirming PD diagnosis.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/5535826
spellingShingle Marzieh Keshtkarjahromi
Danielle S. Abraham
Ann L. Gruber-Baldini
Katrina Schrader
Stephen G. Reich
Joseph M. Savitt
Rainer Von Coelln
Lisa M. Shulman
Confirming Parkinson Disease Diagnosis: Patterns of Diagnostic Changes by Movement Disorder Specialists
Parkinson's Disease
title Confirming Parkinson Disease Diagnosis: Patterns of Diagnostic Changes by Movement Disorder Specialists
title_full Confirming Parkinson Disease Diagnosis: Patterns of Diagnostic Changes by Movement Disorder Specialists
title_fullStr Confirming Parkinson Disease Diagnosis: Patterns of Diagnostic Changes by Movement Disorder Specialists
title_full_unstemmed Confirming Parkinson Disease Diagnosis: Patterns of Diagnostic Changes by Movement Disorder Specialists
title_short Confirming Parkinson Disease Diagnosis: Patterns of Diagnostic Changes by Movement Disorder Specialists
title_sort confirming parkinson disease diagnosis patterns of diagnostic changes by movement disorder specialists
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/5535826
work_keys_str_mv AT marziehkeshtkarjahromi confirmingparkinsondiseasediagnosispatternsofdiagnosticchangesbymovementdisorderspecialists
AT daniellesabraham confirmingparkinsondiseasediagnosispatternsofdiagnosticchangesbymovementdisorderspecialists
AT annlgruberbaldini confirmingparkinsondiseasediagnosispatternsofdiagnosticchangesbymovementdisorderspecialists
AT katrinaschrader confirmingparkinsondiseasediagnosispatternsofdiagnosticchangesbymovementdisorderspecialists
AT stephengreich confirmingparkinsondiseasediagnosispatternsofdiagnosticchangesbymovementdisorderspecialists
AT josephmsavitt confirmingparkinsondiseasediagnosispatternsofdiagnosticchangesbymovementdisorderspecialists
AT rainervoncoelln confirmingparkinsondiseasediagnosispatternsofdiagnosticchangesbymovementdisorderspecialists
AT lisamshulman confirmingparkinsondiseasediagnosispatternsofdiagnosticchangesbymovementdisorderspecialists