Tardive Dyskinesia: Diagnostic Issues, Subsyndromes, and Concurrent Movement Disorders: A Study of State Hospital Inpatients Referred to a Movement Disorder Consultation Service

Of 49 state hospital patients referred for movement disorder consultation for tardive dyskinesia (TD), 11 (23.9%) of 46 meeting inclusion criteria had movement disorders other than TD. These other disorders led to a false diagnosis of TD in 6 subjects (12.2%). Between-day dyskinesia variability affected TD ascertainment in only 3.2 percent of subjects. Prevalences of other neurological conditions in the 30 patients identified with definite TD were parkinsonism (90%), dystonia (25%), akathisia (16%), cerebellar signs (40%), dysmetria (23%), cerebellar tremor (17%), tardive dystonia (3.3%), and tardive akathisia (3.3%). Concurrence rates of parkinsonism with TD varied significantly according to which clinical signs were used to define parkinsonism. Using a rating score threshold of at least mild, rigidity occurred in 79.3 percent, bradykinesia in 55.2 percent, and resting tremor in 41.4 percent of subjects with TD; more significant rigidity occurred in 41.4 percent, bradykinesia in 31.0 percent, and resting tremor in 20.7 percent. Concurrence rates of neurological conditions with TD subsyndromes were distributed rather evenly according to condition prevalences, except for an association of cervicotruncal TD with bradykinesia (perhaps because of ventromedial striatal presynaptic and postsynaptic D2 blockade, respectively). These findings, as well as the occurrence of equal gender ratio and relative under-representation of bipolar and alcohol disorders in subjects with definite TD, are discussed.