Current approaches for the management of Parkinson’s disease in Chinese hospitals: a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND: Chinese guidelines for management of Parkinson’s disease (PD) have been issued and updated regularly since 2006. We undertook a cross-sectional survey to evaluate the impact of the latest edition (2014) on current approaches to the management of PD based on previous pilot works. METHODS: Seven hundred and seventeen participants, divided into 3 groups (GPs, Neurologists, and Specialists), recruited from 138 randomly chosen hospitals from 30 cities across China, participated by completing the questionnaire describing their current approaches before and after the guidelines were issued. RESULTS: Considerable discrepancies in management were apparent across the three categories, with different selection of first-choice medication for PD patients. There were also variations in management of concurrent psychiatric symptoms and dementia. Notably, over 50% of participants reported improvements in PD recognition and management by following the guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: The increasing use of Chinese clinical practice guidelines for PD management is having a positive impact on the optimization of care, which in turn offers important economic benefits.