The First Hospital-Based Registry of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis in Croatia

The first hospital-based registry of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) was established at the University Department of Neurology, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Centre, Zagreb, Croatia, in 2014. The aim of the registry was to continuously provide data on the number of hospital-managed MS patients, patterns of disease progression, predictors of disability progression, changes in lifespan and long-term outcomes. Relevant medical data included age and gender of MS patients, family history of MS, data on previous immunization, disease course, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesion load quantification, and cerebrospinal fluid analysis. Lifestyle habits in MS patients including smoking and alcohol consumption were also analyzed. All data were obtained from primary medical records between January 1, 2014 and January 1, 2015, and entered into the database. Data were evaluated retrospectively according to age and gender differences. Results showed that the majority of patients enrolled in the registry had the remitting relapsing course of disease, with low EDSS score indicating no disability or minimal disability. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis showed that oligoclonal bands were present in the majority of MS patients, with affected blood-brain-barrier permeability. According to the remitting relapsing course of the disease, cerebral MRI quantitative analysis demonstrated a significant lesion load in the majority of patients. When stratified by lifestyle habits, smokers and alcohol consumers were more prevalent among male patients. Our hospital-based registry might be considered as a prototype for the national MS registry and should be improved for reliable statistical analysis.