Clinical findings, status of care, comprehensive quality of life, daily life therapy and treatment at home in patients with Parkinson's disease.

We analyzed patients with Parkinson's disease from various aspects such as clinical findings, the degree of independence in daily life, care environment, quality of life (QOL) and treatment at home. The subjects were 104 in- and outpatients (47 males and 57 females) seen at our hospital. The mean age was 69.85 years in the males and 70.35 years in the females. The disease most frequently developed at the age of 60-69 years and the disease duration was 5 years or more in 52 patients. Rigidity was the most common symptom (91 patients), followed by gait disturbance (n = 87) and tremor (n = 86). Levodopa/carbidopa was the drug most frequently used (77 patients). The number of patients treated by combination drug therapy increased with the duration of disease. Concerning the degree of independence in daily life, assistance was often necessary in bathing, dressing and undressing, toileting and walking. In particular, total assistance was necessary in patients with Hoehn-Yahr stage-IV and V disease. The comprehensive QOL was the lowest in terms of social activities, hobbies and leisure activities, followed in order by work and subjective QOL. QOL decreased in each item with the severity of the disease. Treatment at home was performed for 19 patients, of whom 11 are still being treated by our staff. Treatment at home combined with persons who care for the patient and in cooperation with other welfare resources may improve the patient's QOL. In diseases that require long-term care such as Parkinson's disease, a comprehensive care management system should be established from the aspect of the patient's QOL.