A recent Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic study, published in Neurology, found many patients diagnosed with spinal cord inflammation of an unknown cause have a specific diagnosis.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Between Dec. 1, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2015, 226 adult patients were referred to Mayo Clinic for spinal cord inflammation of unknown cause.
2. Of the patients referred:
• 41 patients, 18 percent, were diagnosed correctly
• 158 patients, 69.9 percent, received a different diagnosis, including multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica or spinal cord vascular strokes
• 55 patients, 24 percent, required treatment changes
• 27 patients, 11.9 percent, hand no spinal cord disease diagnosis confirmed.
3. The study authors concluded, “The majority of patients with suspected [spinal cord inflammation] have alternative specific myelopathy diagnosis. A presumptive diagnosis of [spinal cord inflammation] can lead to premature diagnostic conclusions affecting patient treatment.”