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0:00
I'm Dr. Robert Coni.
I'm a Neurologist at Grand
Strand Medical Center and
the Associate Professor
of pre-clinical medicine
at Burrell College of
Osteopathic Medicine.
Today we're going to talk
about the approach
to the patient with
a neurologic complaint for
the primary care provider.
0:22
Why is this important?
You're here. You've chosen
to watch this video
for a reason.
It's likely that you have
experienced some of the
issues I have outlined here.
You recognize that there
was a significant number of
patients that you see with
neurologically-related
complaints.
You may even be experiencing
a subtle degree of anxiety
overseeing these patients.
Of course, the shortage
of neurologists
has impacted you and
your patients already.
Your access to neurologic
consultation for
your patients is delayed
and adds to your angst.
It's my hope that I
can provide you with
a more rigorous approach
that will increase
your comfort level in
seeing and evaluating
patients with nervous
system-related complaints.
1:10
As alluded to, there is
a significant number
of patients who have
neurologic complaints when they
enter their primary care
physician's office,
the emergency room,
or an urgent care center.
These range from headache
through neurodegenerative
disorders,
and there are numerous
iterations in-between.
1:31
In a study performed in
the United Kingdom and
published in 2000,
the most common major
neurological conditions
encountered in
a primary care practice
included cerebral vascular
events, shingles,
diabetic polyneuropathy,
compressive
neuropathies, epilepsy,
Parkinson's disease,
peripheral neuropathies,
multiple sclerosis, neuralgias,
and CNS infections.
Other more recent
studies indicate that
headaches and migraine,
Alzheimer's disease,
neurologic injuries such as
spinal cord injury and TPI,
motor neuron disease,
and radiculopathy,
as well as back pain,
are common complaints also.
For the first time
ever in the US,
the number of people above
age 65 is higher than
those below the age of 18.
Middle-aged Americans already
outnumbered this group.
This graying of the
population has been
apparent in other
Western nations.
For instance, in Japan,
one in four are at
least 65 years of age,
and Europe is headed down
the same path as the US.
With this aging, the
prevalence of some of
the neurological
diseases mentioned
are sure to play a
more important role.
