Approach to Managing the Initial Presentation of Multiple Sclerosis: A Worldwide Practice Survey

Available disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) are rapidly expanding; although escalation approaches aim to balance safety and efficacy, emerging evidence suggests superior outcomes for people with MS who are exposed to early high-efficacy therapies. We aimed to explore practice differences in prevailing management strategies for relapsing-remitting MS.

We used a worldwide electronic survey launched by the Practice Current section of Neurology® Clinical Practice. Questions pertained to a case of a 37-year-old woman presenting with optic neuritis. Respondents were asked to indicate their initial investigations, relapse management strategy, choice of disease-modifying therapy, and plan for follow-up imaging (contrast/noncontrast). Survey responses were stratified by key demographic variables along with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs).

We received 153 responses from 42 countries; 32.3% responders identified as MS specialists. There was a strong preference for intravenous delivery of high-dose corticosteroids (87.7%, 95% CI 80.7-92.5), and most of the responders (61.3%, 95% CI 52.6-69.4) indicated they would treat a nondisabling (mild sensory) MS relapse. When asked to select a single initial DMT, 56.6% (95% CI 47.6-65.1) selected a high-efficacy therapy (67.5% MS specialists vs 53.7% non-MS specialists). The most selected agents overall were fingolimod (14.7%), natalizumab (15.5%), and dimethyl fumarate (20.9%). Two-thirds of respondents indicated they would request contrast-enhanced surveillance MRI.

Although there is a slight preference for initiating high-efficacy DMT at the time of initial MS diagnosis, opinions regarding the most appropriate treatment paradigm remain divided.