Acute Medicine | Immobility 02 knowledge A

Parkinson’s Disease: Classical Symptoms and Signs
Session Overview
Description
This session revises the typical symptoms and signs that people with Parkinson’s disease are likely to present with, at the initial stage of their illness.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• State the typical symptoms and signs in patients presenting with a new diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease to an Acute Medical Unit

Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) may present in a variety of ways and places. Clearly, patients with PD may present to an Acute Medical Unit (AMU) and can often pose significant management difficulties.

Occasionally, however, a patient may present to AMU with undiagnosed PD and this session describes key motor and non-motor features of idiopathic PD that will assist diagnosis.

In research and specialist clinical practice, a set of criteria called the UK Parkinson's Disease Society (UKPDS) Brain Bank Diagnostic Criteria are often used, but are beyond the scope of this session.