[Characteristics of the diagnosis of progressive Duchenne muscular dystrophy]

A total of 70 patients with Duchenne progressive muscular dystrophy (DPMD) aged 3 to 20 were enrolled in this study. Peculiarities of the diagnosis and diagnostic errors were shown at different stages of medical follow-up of the patients. A half of the patients had pediatrists and orthopedists as their first doctors. Upon the initial investigation, DPMD was diagnosed in about 1/3 of the patients. Retarded motor and psycholingual development were the first signs of the disease in 72.9% and 37.1% of the cases, respectively. Bones and cartilages were also frequently changed. To improve the early DPMD diagnosis it is essential that pediatrists child surgeons and ortopedists be largely informed about the clinical features of the disease.