Clinical Characteristics of Involuntary Movement in Hospitalized Patients

Neurological symptoms in hospitalized patients are not rare, and neurological consultation for movement disorders is especially important in evaluating or managing those with various movement disorders. Therefore, we investigated a clinical pattern of in-hospital consultations for various movement disorders in a tertiary care university hospital.

Over two years, a total of 202 patients (70.7 ± 11.8 years of age) presenting with movement disorders referred to movement disorder specialists were investigated.

The main symptoms referred by nonneurologists were tremor (56.9%), parkinsonism (16.8%), and gait disturbance (8.9%). The most frequent diagnostic category was toxic/metabolic-caused movement disorder (T/MCMD) (35%) with regard to medications, followed by Parkinson's disease (PD) (16%). Regarding the mode of onset, T/MCMD was the leading cause for acute (68%) and subacute onset (46%), while PD was the leading disorder (31%) for chronic onset.

The current study showed a characteristic pattern of inpatients presenting with movement disorders. Furthermore, our findings highlighted the clinical significance of drug use or metabolic problems for treating this patient population.