Clinical Characteristics of Involuntary Movement in Hospitalized Patients.

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.