Gaps in clinical knowledge and skills increase amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diagnostic delay

An email-based survey was sent to 77 Ohio-based primary care providers to identify self-reported factors concerning the recognition of signs and symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Survey questions included confidence in recognizing signs and symptoms, differentiation between neurologic causes of dysfunction, and recognition of indicative signs of upper or lower motor neurons.
Participants reported the top reasons for delayed diagnosis as: time taken for patient to present symptoms, diagnostic uncertainty, delayed access to specialist care.
Authors concluded that diagnostic uncertainty and gaps in clinical knowledge contributed to diagnostic delay and restricted further access to specialist neurology care.