BACKGROUND: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common form of muscular dystrophy in childhood. METHOD: To assess the current care of paediatric DMD patients in Canada, a questionnaire was mailed to 17 physicians who were members of the Canadian paediatric neuromuscular group. Areas of enquiry included; 1) multidisciplinary team composition; 2) means of DMD diagnosis; 3) corticosteroid use; surveillance and management for: 4) orthopaedic, 5) respiratory and 6) cardiac complications and 7) health maintenance (nutrition & immunizations). RESULTS: Completed surveys were returned by 14/17 (82%) of physicians. Twelve respondents followed DMD patients. All centres had multidisciplinary teams, including respirology (11/12), child neurology or physiatry (11), physiotherapy (9), occupational therapy (9) and orthopaedic surgery (7). Deflazacort 0.9 mg/kg/d was used at all centres, which was continued after loss of independent ambulation (11), along with routine calcium and vitamin D supplementation (10). Night splints were prescribed at all centres. Routine surveillance studies included pulmonary function testing (11), sleep studies (10), EKG/echocardiogram (10), bone density (DEXA) scans (10), spine radiography (9), and dietician referral (4). CONCLUSION: Paediatric DMD patients are receiving relatively consistent care in multidisciplinary clinics across Canada, in accordance with recommended guidelines for DMD.
BACKGROUND:Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common form of muscular dystrophy in childhood. METHOD: To assess the current care of paediatric DMDpatients in Canada, a questionnaire was mailed to 17 physicians who were members of the Canadian paediatric neuromuscular group. Areas of enquiry included; 1) multidisciplinary team composition; 2) means of DMD diagnosis; 3) corticosteroid use; surveillance and management for: 4) orthopaedic, 5) respiratory and 6) cardiac complications and 7) health maintenance (nutrition & immunizations). RESULTS: Completed surveys were returned by 14/17 (82%) of physicians. Twelve respondents followed DMDpatients. All centres had multidisciplinary teams, including respirology (11/12), child neurology or physiatry (11), physiotherapy (9), occupational therapy (9) and orthopaedic surgery (7). Deflazacort 0.9 mg/kg/d was used at all centres, which was continued after loss of independent ambulation (11), along with routine calcium and vitamin D supplementation (10). Night splints were prescribed at all centres. Routine surveillance studies included pulmonary function testing (11), sleep studies (10), EKG/echocardiogram (10), bone density (DEXA) scans (10), spine radiography (9), and dietician referral (4). CONCLUSION: Paediatric DMDpatients are receiving relatively consistent care in multidisciplinary clinics across Canada, in accordance with recommended guidelines for DMD.
Authors: D M Escolar; A Zimmerman; T Bertorini; P R Clemens; A M Connolly; L Mesa; K Gorni; A Kornberg; H Kolski; N Kuntz; Y Nevo; C Tesi-Rocha; K Nagaraju; S Rayavarapu; L P Hache; J E Mayhew; J Florence; F Hu; A Arrieta; E Henricson; R T Leshner; J K Mah Journal: Neurology Date: 2012-03-07 Impact factor: 9.910
Authors: J Ma; H J McMillan; G Karagüzel; C Goodin; J Wasson; M A Matzinger; P DesClouds; D Cram; M Page; V N Konji; B Lentle; L M Ward Journal: Osteoporos Int Date: 2016-10-24 Impact factor: 4.507