Relapse prevalence, symptoms, and health care engagement: patient insights from the Multiple Sclerosis in America 2017 survey

ConclusionMS relapse remains particularly challenging for certain patients; some experience>2 relapses in 1 year, relapse durations ≥1 month, and relapse symptoms that interfere with daily functioning (e.g. walking/balance by 68.8%). However, approximately 25% of patients reported rarely or never engaging their HCP during relapse. Common reasons for not engaging, like HCP helpfulness and treatment effectiveness/tolerance, warrant further exploration. Results indicating the benefits of timely touchpoints on both the part of the patient and HCP during relapse include the relationship between higher frequency of engagement with lower relapse frequency and more discussion of both relapse-related and MS-related discussion topics. Survey limitations apply.
Source: Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders - Category: Neurology Source Type: research