The World Health Organization recommends the use of Osame's criterion (1990) for the diagnosis of HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (HAM/TSP). In 2006, a group of neurologists developed a Brazilian criterion that can diagnose HAM/TSP from its onset. Objective: It was to test the agreement between both criteria. Methods: The study included evaluation of clinical and laboratory findings of 35 patients. The ELISA, Western blot and/or polymerase chain reaction was used to search for anti-HTLV-I antibodies. The analysis of agreement was based on the calculation of Kappa. Results: Concordance of 100% (Kappa=1) occurred in cases of "defined" HAM/TSP, but not in patients with "probable" diagnosis. Conclusion: The Brazilian criteria was as effective as Osame's criteria for the diagnosis of "defined" HAM/TSP. However, both require more specific biological markers in cerebrospinal fluid for the laboratory diagnosis of probable cases.
CITATION STYLE
Slater, C. M. S. A., Ribeiro, L. C. P., & Puccioni-Sohler, M. (2012). Difficulties in HAM/TSP diagnosis. Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 70(9), 686–690. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2012000900007
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