All-cause hospitalizations in multiple sclerosis patients

Introduction. There is poor knowledge on current hospitalizations in the multiple sclerosis (MS) population. The purpose of this study was to determine hospitalization causes and outcomes in a MS hospital-based cohort. Patients and methods. A retrospective chart review was performed on all patients admitted at our centre between August, 2009 and July, 2015, excluding those with no previous established diagnosis. Results. 308 hospitalizations were included, representing a total of 155 patients (female, 67.5%). Median age at hospitalizations was 47 years, with median disease duration of 12 years. The most common overall reason for hospitalization was infectious diseases (22.1%), followed by MS relapses (12.7%) and neurogenic bladder (11%). The median length of hospitalization for all patients was 5 days and the progressive subtype of MS had longer lengths of hospitalization than the relapsing-remitting MS. Intensive care unit admission occurred in 23 cases (7.5%) and were associated with increased mortality and length of hospitalization. Of the 308 hospitalizations, 9 (2.9%) resulted in death. Conclusion. Infections are the most common cause of hospitalizations in our study, although MS relapses or complications related to MS continue to be significant causes of morbidity. Almost 8% of all MS hospitalizations required intensive care unit admission and these were related to longer admission lengths and higher death rates.