Results from a multiple sclerosis relapse clinic

Ger Mullan; Rachael Kee; Fiona Kennedy; Stella Hughes; Gavin V McDonnell

doi:10.1016/j.msard.2025.106459

Results from a multiple sclerosis relapse clinic

Ger Mullan^*, Rachael Kee, Fiona Kennedy, Stella Hughes, Gavin V McDonnell

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Background
A multiple sclerosis (MS) relapse clinic can lead to early diagnosis and management of MS relapses, yet published outcomes from MS relapse clinics are scarce.

Methods
We analysed the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) relapse clinic over a 12 month period.

Results
Only 16 % of attendees were diagnosed with a relapse, defined as new neurological symptoms with radiological evidence of new disease activity. Pseudorelapse was a more common cause of presentation (19 %) than relapse. Corticosteroid therapy was administered in 3 % of all attendances.

Conclusions
This low figure highlights the importance of clinical evaluation of new symptoms, justifies caution in corticosteroid prescribing and may reflect the impact of highly-effective therapies. We encourage other groups to publish their relapse clinic findings to best characterise the frequency of relapses and the utility of such services using real world data.

Original language	English
Article number	106459
Number of pages	3
Journal	Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders
Volume	99
Early online date	25 Apr 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msard.2025.106459
Publication status	Early online date - 25 Apr 2025

Keywords

Multiple sclerosis
MS
relapse clinic

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10.1016/j.msard.2025.106459Licence: CC BY

Results from a multiple sclerosis relapse clinic
2025 Crown Copyright This is an open access article published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the author and source are cited.
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Cite this

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abstract = "BackgroundA multiple sclerosis (MS) relapse clinic can lead to early diagnosis and management of MS relapses, yet published outcomes from MS relapse clinics are scarce.MethodsWe analysed the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) relapse clinic over a 12 month period.ResultsOnly 16 % of attendees were diagnosed with a relapse, defined as new neurological symptoms with radiological evidence of new disease activity. Pseudorelapse was a more common cause of presentation (19 %) than relapse. Corticosteroid therapy was administered in 3 % of all attendances.ConclusionsThis low figure highlights the importance of clinical evaluation of new symptoms, justifies caution in corticosteroid prescribing and may reflect the impact of highly-effective therapies. We encourage other groups to publish their relapse clinic findings to best characterise the frequency of relapses and the utility of such services using real world data.",

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AU - Mullan, Ger

AU - Kee, Rachael

AU - Kennedy, Fiona

AU - Hughes, Stella

AU - McDonnell, Gavin V

PY - 2025/4/25

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N2 - BackgroundA multiple sclerosis (MS) relapse clinic can lead to early diagnosis and management of MS relapses, yet published outcomes from MS relapse clinics are scarce.MethodsWe analysed the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) relapse clinic over a 12 month period.ResultsOnly 16 % of attendees were diagnosed with a relapse, defined as new neurological symptoms with radiological evidence of new disease activity. Pseudorelapse was a more common cause of presentation (19 %) than relapse. Corticosteroid therapy was administered in 3 % of all attendances.ConclusionsThis low figure highlights the importance of clinical evaluation of new symptoms, justifies caution in corticosteroid prescribing and may reflect the impact of highly-effective therapies. We encourage other groups to publish their relapse clinic findings to best characterise the frequency of relapses and the utility of such services using real world data.

AB - BackgroundA multiple sclerosis (MS) relapse clinic can lead to early diagnosis and management of MS relapses, yet published outcomes from MS relapse clinics are scarce.MethodsWe analysed the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) relapse clinic over a 12 month period.ResultsOnly 16 % of attendees were diagnosed with a relapse, defined as new neurological symptoms with radiological evidence of new disease activity. Pseudorelapse was a more common cause of presentation (19 %) than relapse. Corticosteroid therapy was administered in 3 % of all attendances.ConclusionsThis low figure highlights the importance of clinical evaluation of new symptoms, justifies caution in corticosteroid prescribing and may reflect the impact of highly-effective therapies. We encourage other groups to publish their relapse clinic findings to best characterise the frequency of relapses and the utility of such services using real world data.

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KW - MS

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DO - 10.1016/j.msard.2025.106459

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SN - 2211-0356

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JO - Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders

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Results from a multiple sclerosis relapse clinic

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Keywords

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