ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) indirect patient-care time is often underreported and uncompensated. Data on time spent on indirect and direct care by MS providers is lacking. METHODS: A survey was designed to understand the practice patterns among MS providers in the United States, including time spent on direct and indirect patient care, as well as managing electronic medical record portal messages. The National MS Society and the American Academy of Neurology facilitated the distribution of the survey to MS providers. RESULTS: Most providers spent at least 1 hour on new and at least 30 minutes on follow-up direct patient care. For indirect patient care, 77% of providers spent more than 1 hour and 57% spent more than 2 hours per day. While some providers have support staff to help with portal messages, many do not have protected time or compensation for portal messages. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple sclerosis providers spent a higher-than-average time on direct and indirect patient care tasks, including portal messages, and most lack protected time or compensation for portal messages. These results highlight the potential impact of indirect patient care (notably portal messages) on provider workload and burnout. Better support, protected time and/or compensation for indirect patient care can help ease physician burden and decrease burnout.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: At sufficiently high doses, methotrexate (HDMTX) achieves substantial CNS penetration, whereas other tissues can be rescued from the effects of HDMTX by leucovorin rescue (LR), which does not penetrate the blood-brain barrier. OBJECTIVES: To report on the efficacy and safety of HDMTX with LR (HDMTX-LR), in the treatment of acute demyelinating inflammatory CNS syndromes refractory to conventional immunotherapy. METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review of 12 patients treated (6 multiple sclerosis [MS], 4 neuromyelitis optica [NMO], and 2 Sjogren's syndrome myelopathy [SSM]) with HDMTX-LR after failing to improve, or exhibiting worsening following conventional immunotherapy. 11 patients were followed for a total of 6months following HDMTX-LR (one was lost to follow up after 1month); and clinical findings were documented at 1month, 3months, and 6months following HDMTX-LR therapy. RESULTS: Ten patients demonstrated both clinical and radiologic evidence of near, if not complete, abolishment of disease activity, in conjunction with impressive reconstitution of neurologic function in the 6-month period following HDMTX-LR. Mean Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) prior to HDMTX-LR was 8.1 (±1.4). Following HDMTX-LR, mean EDSS was 6.6 (±2.4) at 1month, 5.8 (±2.3) at 3months, and 5.7 (±2.3) at 6months. CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective assessment of treatment-recalcitrant fulminant inflammatory CNS syndromes, HDMTX-LR was observed to be a safe and highly effective treatment, producing the rapid and near complete cessation of disease activity, in conjunction with an important corresponding and 'durable remission' in the majority of our small treatment cohort.
