Understanding of deep brain stimulation limited among patients with Parkinson’s disease
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Key takeaways:
- A survey of 52 adults with PD revealed knowledge gaps regarding the use of and side effects associated with deep brain stimulation.
- Study highlights need for improved patient education and counseling.
BOSTON — A survey of patients with Parkinson’s disease revealed knowledge gaps about the use of deep brain stimulation, according to a poster at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting.
“We found a large disparity in the amount of education we give patients regarding [deep brain stimulation], symptoms that they control, symptoms that might be encountered as side effects,” Austin Oblack, DO, a fellow in the departments of neurology and neurosurgery at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, told Healio. “And the largest one, does it alter the disease course itself?”
Oblack and colleagues sought to identify existing knowledge gaps patients with PD may have regarding deep brain stimulation (DBS) in order to bolster self-care and health outcomes.
They conducted a quantitative, prospective study of 52 cognitively competent adults with PD who were recruited from the Dallas Area Parkinsonism Society, Parkinson Voice Project and UTSW’s Aston Movement Disorders Clinic. The predominantly male, white and college-educated cohort answered a 23-question, web-based survey about DBS, including whether it alters disease course, improves symptoms and affects medications.
According to preliminary results, 53.8% of participants believed DBS was effective in mid-stage of disease, followed by 34.6% any stage, 7.7% late-stage and 3.8% early-stage. Most participants responded that DBS could improve tremors, dyskinesia and stiffness, while just half of respondents indicated slowness and walking could be improved.
In addition, most participants thought DBS led to side effects such as brain bleed, stroke, speech and cognitive impairment and infection, while a majority also responded that DBS alters the natural course of PD.
“Patients are either agreeing to undergo DBS or refusing DBS, with what seems to be a misunderstanding of the knowledge of what it will do for them,” Oblack said.