Clinical Characteristics of Involuntary Movement in Hospitalized Patients

• Main Authors: Kyum-Yil Kwon, Hye Mi Lee, Seon-Min Lee, Seong-Beom Koh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korean Movement Disorders Society 2019-01-01
• Series: Journal of Movement Disorders
• Subjects: Consultation; hospital; inpatients; movement disorder; tremor
• Online Access: http://www.e-jmd.org/upload/jmd-18040.pdf

Objective Neurological symptoms in hospitalized patients are not rare, and neurological consultation for movement disorders is especially important in evaluating or managing those with various movement disorders. Therefore, we investigated a clinical pattern of in-hospital consultations for various movement disorders in a tertiary care university hospital. Methods Over two years, a total of 202 patients (70.7 ± 11.8 years of age) presenting with movement disorders referred to movement disorder specialists were investigated. Results The main symptoms referred by nonneurologists were tremor (56.9%), parkinsonism (16.8%), and gait disturbance (8.9%). The most frequent diagnostic category was toxic/metabolic-caused movement disorder (T/MCMD) (35%) with regard to medications, followed by Parkinson’s disease (PD) (16%). Regarding the mode of onset, T/MCMD was the leading cause for acute (68%) and subacute onset (46%), while PD was the leading disorder (31%) for chronic onset. Conclusion The current study showed a characteristic pattern of inpatients presenting with movement disorders. Furthermore, our findings highlighted the clinical significance of drug use or metabolic problems for treating this patient population.