Neurological diagnoses in children potentially fulfilling the criteria for developmental coordination disorder.
Martinica Garofalo, Fleur Vansenne, Jessika F van Hoorn and 3 others
PMID 40714970WHAT IT FOUND
In children suspected of developmental coordination disorder, neurological exam alone was unreliable for ruling out other conditions.
Thirty-eight percent received an alternative diagnosis, with genetic disorders identified in over half of these cases. Clinicians should consider referring for further investigation when motor signs are atypical or progressive.
Key findings
01Phenotypical assessment by paediatric neurologists was insufficiently reliable to distinguish between DCD and alternative diagnoses, with low positive predictive values.
02Of the patients who received an alternative diagnosis, more than half had a genetic cause identified.
03There were no significant differences in clinical features, including movement disorder characteristics, between children diagnosed with DCD and those with alternative diagnoses.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted in a tertiary centre specialised in movement and neurodevelopmental disorders, so the results may not reflect the general population of children with coordination difficulties seen in primary care. The sample size was small (50 patients), which limits the power to detect subtle differences between groups. Data were collected retrospectively from medical records, relying on qualitative assessments rather than standardised quantitative measures for some outcomes. Whole-exome sequencing was not performed on all patients, particularly those diagnosed with DCD, meaning some genetic diagnoses in the DCD group may have been missed.
Declared interests
The authors received funding from the University of Groningen and various Dutch health research organisations. Several authors are members of the European Reference Network for Rare Neurological Diseases. The authors state they were independent from the sponsors and that the content was not influenced by them.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a child with coordination problems definitely has DCD. This study shows that clinical examination alone is poor at distinguishing DCD from other serious conditions, such as genetic disorders. A lack of obvious 'red flags' does not rule out an alternative diagnosis.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →