Journal of Clinical and Experimental Investigations

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to identify sociodemographic and hospitalization characteristics of the multiple sclerosis (MS) patients admitted to a reference center in Turkey.
Patients and Methods: This is a single-center retrospective study which reviews MS patient records in 66 months. The study covered between April 1, 2010 and September 30, 2015. Data was collected on age, gender, number of admissions, number of hospitalizations (dates and durations), requests for laboratory tests and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), existence of disability reports and provision of home care. Total number of admissions for home care was 78.
Results: We determined 6996 MS admissions by 1578 patients in 66 months. 65.8% (n: 1038) of patients were females; mean age was 37.0. There were 4.4 admissions per patient. 584 (37.0%) patients had MRI requests. Blood tests were requested in 25% of all admissions. We identified 5213 (74.5%) admissions of 400 (25.3%) patients who have admitted at least five times to the center. For this group, mean admission per patient was 13.0, MRI request per patient was 2.1. 38.7% (n=152) of these patients was hospitalized at least once.
Conclusion: The use of resources for MS patients in a hospital setting is remarkable, which includes admissions, hospitalizations, blood tests and MRIs. However, when the number of patients with MS diagnosis taken into consideration, it is noteworthy that the number of demands for homecare is very small. Our study will be a guide for reducing cost of illness and improving care pathways.