Objective:

We studied the varied spectrum of movement disorders, their etiology and outcome in patients presenting as an emergency to our hospital.

Background:

Movement disorders often present as emergencies in the casualty ward and can be challenging to diagnose and manage due to their varied presentation and underlying etiologies. Emergency departments (EDs) are often the first point of contact for patients presenting with movement disorders. The clinical profile of these patients can vary widely, depending on the underlying condition. There is dearth of studies on pattern of various movement disorders observed in emergency. 

Design/Methods:

This is an ongoing prospective, descriptive and observational single center study. Patients presenting as an emergency with movement disorders to our tertiary care center during the last 4 months were included in the study. Informed consent from the patient and Institutional ethical committee approval were taken.

Results:

40 patients presented as an emergency with movement disorders during the study period. Thirteen (32.5%) patients were female. Mean (± SD) age was 45.62 (± 19.14) yrs with age range 5-78 years.  Myoclonus (32.50%), Chorea (30%) were found to be the most common movement disorders in emergency. The most common etiology was found to be Metabolic. Commonest cause for Chorea was found to be Uncontrolled Diabetes (53.8%) and the control of glucose levels resulted in resolution of the movement disorders with 2 patients requiring symptomatic therapy as well. Seven patients were < 18yrs. Myoclonus was the most common movement disorders in emergency among them; SSPE was the most common etiology.

Conclusions:

This study showed Myoclonus was the most common movement disorder presenting in the emergency in contrary to the previous studies available. Early diagnosis, identifying the etiology and treating the reversible causes helped in better outcomes.