Revised McDonald criteria for multiple sclerosis diagnostics in central Russia: sensitivity and specificity

The 2010 revised McDonald criteria were developed with data gathered from Caucasian European and North American populations, and their applicability has been questioned for the Russian population.

The objective of this report is to compare the specificity, accuracy, sensitivity and predictive value of MRI criteria incorporated to the new (2010) and old (2005) McDonald criteria for early multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnostics in the Nyzhnyi Novgorod (Russia) population.

A total of 103 patients with symptoms suggestive of MS were recruited from 2008 to 2011 retrospectively. Patients were followed up until MS was confirmed or other proved diagnoses were determined. Their baseline and follow-up brain and spinal cord MRIs were retrospectively evaluated. Sixty-two patients (60%) converted to MS during the follow-up period (mean in 11±4.2 months).

In 41 cases (38%) diagnoses another than MS were established. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV and NPV of the revised MRI criteria were 74%, 93%, 82%, 94%, 70%, respectively.

Despite the limitations of our study, we conclude that the ability of the revised MRI criteria for early MS diagnostics in the Russian population is approximately similar to that determined by the international panel in Europe.