Bhooma Aravamuthan, MD, DPhil

“[Pediatric neurologists] are particularly well equipped to diagnose cerebral palsy and determine the cause of cerebral palsy—but caring for these people doesn’t just stop with diagnosis.”

Data which were set to be presented at the 

American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 2020 Annual Meeting

 by Bhooma Aravamuthan, MD, DPhil, assistant professor of neurology, Division of Child Neurology/Movement Disorders, University of Washington in St. Louis, and colleagues revealed that there is wide variability in cerebral palsy diagnosis among different providers. Ultimately, they identified that significant differences between diagnoses from neurologists and non-neurologists were common.

For Aravamuthan, this highlights an ongoing challenge in the care and diagnosis of these patients. She told 

 in an interview that the role of the neurologist in the diagnosis of these patients is impacted by a number of factors and improving that role may help improve the care of these patients. Although, caring for an individual with cerebral palsy requires a more connected approach that fits the ongoing move in medicine toward a more collaborative effort from multiple providers.

To find out more about what needs to be done to improve this care and what role the adult and pediatric neurologist can play in that, 

 sought Aravamuthan’s insight. She detailed the real need for a systemic, multi-specialist approach to this systemic condition, and provided the main takeaways from her and her colleagues’ work.

Aravamuthan B, Fehlings D, Kruer M. High Practice Variability in Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis: Need for clarification of the consensus definition? 

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The assistant professor of neurology at the University of Washington in St. Louis discussed the need for a systemic, multi-specialist approach to cerebral palsy and provided the main takeaways from her and her colleagues’ work.

Bhooma Aravamuthan, MD, DPhil: Taking a Multi-Specialist Approach to Cerebral Palsy

“Cerebral palsy has, as a disorder—even though it’s remarkably common and is the most common cause of motor disability in childhood&mdash;fallen kind of in the middle of several different specialties, and neurologists, as of late, have not taken real ownership over a lot of these patients.”

Bhooma Aravamuthan, MD, DPhil, assistant professor of neurology, Division of Child Neurology/Movement Disorders, University of Washington in St. Louis, and colleagues conducted a survey of a number of various health care physicians who come in contact with patients who may require a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Their aim was to assess practice variability in its diagnosis, one of the challenges in this space for the last decade.

Their data, which was set to be presented at the 

, revealed that in spite of the international consensus definition for cerebral palsy, significant differences between diagnoses from neurologists and non-neurologists were common. In their survey, the group offered 4 hypothetical, but common patient scenarios for diagnosis, and noted that in 1 of the scenarios, non-neurologists tended to cite hypotonia, normal MRI, and/or genetic diagnosis as exclusion criteria for cerebral palsy, while neurologists appeared to only cite genetics—a significant difference in respective approaches.

To find out more about what these data suggest about the factors that may contribute to these diagnosis inconsistencies, including lack of provider education and awareness, as well as the role neurologists play in the care of these patients with cerebral palsy, 

The assistant professor of neurology at the University of Washington in St. Louis detailed the &shy;&shy;factors that may contribute to these inconsistencies in cerebral palsy diagnosis and what role neurologists should play.

Bhooma Aravamuthan, MD, DPhil: Improving Neurologists' Focus on Cerebral Palsy

“There are a lot of other disorders that we’re learning about that look like cerebral palsy but aren’t and are treatable—because of that the diagnosis is getting more and more complicated.”

, data was accepted for presentation from a survey study conducted by  Bhooma Aravamuthan, MD, DPhil, assistant professor of neurology, Division of Child Neurology/Movement Disorders, University of Washington in St. Louis, and colleagues. The study aimed to assess practice variability in cerebral palsy diagnosis, which has been beset by challenges for the last decade, in part due to the wide variety of specialists who care for these patients.

All told, the study found that despite having an international consensus definition for cerebral palsy for more than a decade, there were significant differences between diagnoses from neurologists and non-neurologists. In 1 of the scenarios presented in the study, non-neurologists cited hypotonia, normal MRI, and/or genetic diagnosis as exclusion criteria for cerebral palsy, while neurologists appeared to only cite genetic diagnosis, highlighting significant differences in their respective approaches.

To find out more about this undertaking and what the data suggest about the ability for neurologists to diagnose patients with cerebral palsy, 

The assistant professor of neurology at the University of Washington in St. Louis discussed a study she and colleagues conducted which revealed significant differences between practitioners in diagnosing cerebral palsy.

Author | Bhooma Aravamuthan, MD, DPhil

Articles

Bhooma Aravamuthan, MD, DPhil: Taking a Multi-Specialist Approach to Cerebral Palsy

Bhooma Aravamuthan, MD, DPhil: Improving Neurologists' Focus on Cerebral Palsy

Bhooma Aravamuthan, MD, DPhil: Inconsistencies in Diagnosing Cerebral Palsy