Hyperkinetic Movement Disorder Emergencies: A Retrospective Study From China

Movement disorders, especially hyperkinetic movement disorders, can present in emergency services in an acute and/or severe form and are aetiologically heterogeneous. Because limited data exist on the epidemiology and clinical presentation of hyperkinetic movement disorders in China, a retrospective study was performed to investigate the spectrum of various hyperkinetic movement disorder emergencies and their underlying causes.

To reveal the spectrum of hyperkinetic movement disorder emergencies from a retrospective study and investigate their underlying causes to aid in their management.

In total, 74 adults presenting with hyperkinetic movement disorders were recruited between January 2023 and September 2024, and data related to clinical information, cranial CT/MRI scans, and blood tests and other necessary examinations were collected.

The frequency of hyperkinetic movement disorder emergencies accounted for 0.125% (74/59 354) of the total patients in the emergency room during this period. The most common type of hyperkinetic movement disorder emergency was myoclonus (44.6%), followed by tremors (37.8%), dystonia (16.2%) and chorea (1.4%). The time delay to medical consultation was divided into three phases: ≤ 24 h (67.6%), 24 h-28 days (23.0%), and > 28 days (9.5%). In addition to the undetermined aetiological factors (31.1%), six aetiological groups were recognised: metabolic disease (16.2%), infection and inflammation (16.2%), psychogenesis (9.5%), drug-induced disorders (9.5%), neurodegenerative diseases (9.5%), and stroke (8.1%). During the 2-year follow-up period, the morbidity rate in our study was 5.4% (4/74).

This study provides a landscape of adult patients presenting to neurology emergency services with hyperkinetic movement disorders in China.