Parkinsonism & related disorders
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Parkinsonism Relat. Disord. · Dec 2007
How many parkinsonian patients are suitable candidates for deep brain stimulation of subthalamic nucleus? Results of a questionnaire.
We used a CAPSIT-based questionnaire to estimate the percentage of parkinsonian patients suitable for subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) in a movement disorders clinic. We found that out of 641 consecutive PD patients only 1.6% fulfilled strict STN-DBS criteria. ⋯ Items related to disease severity were responsible for the largest number of exclusions. This knowledge will help make decisions on resource allocation in centres wishing to start DBS surgery.