Pediatric Neuromuscular Diseases Prevalence in Siriraj Hospital, Thailand's Largest Tertiary Referral Hospital

Objective: There are no epidemiological data on childhood neuromuscular diseases in Thailand. We aimed to estimate the proportion of NMDs among pediatric neurology patients in Siriraj Hospital and determine the specific diagnosis. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in the pediatric neuromuscular clinic at Siriraj Hospital between 2014 and 2016. Results: Of 1,994 patients aged < 21 years with neurological diseases, 217 (10.88 %) had received a diagnosis. Diagnostic clarity can be achieved using clinical tools such as electromyography, serum creatinine kinase, muscle histo-immunology, and genetic analysis. Of the 217 patients, 143 (65.9 %) had inherited and 74 (34.1%) had acquired neuromuscular diseases. The most common inherited NMD were the Dystrophinopathies, including Duchenne / Becker muscular dystrophy (n = 58), while spinal muscular atrophy was the second most common (n = 25). Myasthenia Gravis was the most common acquired neuromuscular disease (n = 36). Conclusion: We found 10.88 percent of patients with neurological diseases have NMD. NMD is a chronic disease with poor quality of life and so multidisciplinary clinical care is crucial for these patients. In order to improve the standard of care, collaboration with government and other tertiary hospitals is important and will help serve a growing population of NMD patients.