Objective: This study investigated the consultation status and clinical symptoms of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Background: Due to the spread of COVID-19, a state of emergency was issued in April in Japan, and medical treatment using telephone and information communication equipment was permitted.
Method: PD patients who visited the outpatient clinic from January to November 2020 were evaluated for their medical status, number of telephone consultations, face-to-face consultation period, Hoehn and Yahr (HY) severity, presence or absence of exercise, and subjective symptoms. This study included 80 patients with PD. The average age of the patients was 70.2 years, and there were 42 males and 38 females. The average illness duration was 9.6 years, and the HY before the state of emergency was I in 1 patient, II in 53, III in 17, IV in 5, and V in 4 patients. The number of telephone consultations were 0 for 54 patients (68%), 1 for 17 patients (21%), and 2 for 9 patients (11%).
Results: The average face-to-face consultation period was 3.1 months (maximum, 10 months). During the consultation period, 54 patients exercised continuously and 26 patients did not. The subjective symptoms were unchanged, slightly worsened, and worsened in 43 (54%), 28 (35%), and 9 (11%) patients, respectively. The deterioration of motor function was the main cause. However, the deterioration of depression was observed in one case. The worsening of the subjective symptoms was significantly correlated with the duration of face-to-face consultation and number of telephone consultations (p < [Editor1] 0.05). A significant correlation (p < 0.0001) was observed between the presence or absence of exercise and worsening of symptoms. HY did not significantly change in the exercise group, but significantly deteriorated from 2.6 to 3.2 in the non-exercise group (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Face-to-face medical care and exercise were found to be useful in maintaining activities of daily living in PD patients. Thus, even in the COVID-19 situation, it is important to instruct people to actively promote exercise while paying attention to infection.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
M. Iijima, R. Morimoto, K. Kitagawa. Investigation of the consultation status and clinical symptoms of patients with Parkinson’s disease after the spread of COVID-19 [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2021; 36 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/investigation-of-the-consultation-status-and-clinical-symptoms-of-patients-with-parkinsons-disease-after-the-spread-of-covid-19/. Accessed June 15, 2025.« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2021
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/investigation-of-the-consultation-status-and-clinical-symptoms-of-patients-with-parkinsons-disease-after-the-spread-of-covid-19/