German guideline for diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis - a survey focusing neurologists in daily practise

C Heesen; C Mokry; A Salmen; H Hegen; M Mäurer; C Warnke; K Gehring; A Berthele; U Meier

doi:10.1016/j.msard.2022.103828

German guideline for diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis - a survey focusing neurologists in daily practise

Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2022 Jul:63:103828. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2022.103828. Epub 2022 Apr 25.

Authors

C Heesen¹, C Mokry², A Salmen³, H Hegen⁴, M Mäurer⁵, C Warnke⁶, K Gehring⁷, A Berthele⁸, U Meier⁹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis (INIMS), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Germany; Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. Electronic address: heesen@uke.de.
² Institute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis (INIMS), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Germany; Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
³ Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁴ Department of Neurology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
⁵ Department of Neurology, Juliusspital, Würzburg, Germany.
⁶ Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
⁷ Neurocenter Klosterforst, Itzehoe, Germany.
⁸ School of Medicine, Dept. of Neurology, Technical University Munich, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Munich, Germany.
⁹ Neurocenter, Grevenbroich, Germany.

PMID: 35490449
DOI: 10.1016/j.msard.2022.103828

Abstract

We performed a web-based survey among German-speaking neurologists to evaluate the acceptance of the 2021 German guideline in the diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis. Based on 327 replies in total, the current survey largely reproduced the findings of an earlier, smaller survey on the prefinal consultation version of the guideline and confirmed high acceptance rates. Half of the participants were practising neurologists. Neurologists from MS centers with more than 500 patients per year (n=26) were more critical of the guideline. They reiterated some of the criticisms of the previous feedback, and, in particular, felt that safety aspects are overemphasized in the guideline, thereby superseding early aggressive therapy.

Publication types

Letter

MeSH terms

Humans
Multiple Sclerosis* / diagnosis
Multiple Sclerosis* / therapy
Neurologists*
Surveys and Questionnaires