delay in diagnosis of motor neuron disease. a tertiary care experience

Motor Neuron Disease is a progressive neurological disorder with poor prognosis. Inability to correctly recognize the disease, leads to undue agony and diagnostic dilemma. Studies have been done to look at the average duration taken to diagnose the disease from the onset of symptoms. The literature shows that latency from symptom onset to diagnosis range from 10.6–17.5 months. No such study has been conducted in our region. We reviewed 62 patients referred to the neurophysiology lab from year 2009 to 2013 with quarry of MND. Only 40 patients were identified to fulfill the El Escorial criteria for MND. The median time of diagnosis from onset of symptoms was one year. This is almost similar to that of world literature. We conclude that in spite of paucity of heath service and high rate of illiteracy the timeliness of diagnosis was consistent with the rest of the world