To characterize the global landscape of MS centers and evaluate compliance with multidisciplinary standards, emphasizing the significance of a simplified, scalable classification framework for improving MS care.
Key Findings:
Academic centers reported higher workloads: mean annual treatments 1,359.6 vs. 779.3 and treated relapses 181.4 vs. 84.1 (p < 0.0001).
Operational data systems were widely used, with stronger regional than institutional gradients in adoption.
Among 168 hospital centers, 120 (71.4%) met MSCU-I and 21 (12.5%) met MSCU-II criteria.
Higher national GDP and health expenditure correlated with MSCU-I designation.
Interpretation:
Regional context outweighs academic status in predicting MSCU adequacy, highlighting significant variability in diagnostic and therapeutic capacities across regions and its implications for MS care practices.
Limitations:
The dataset is predominantly driven by Europe and Latin America, limiting extrapolation to under-represented regions like North America, which may affect the generalizability of the findings.
Conclusion:
The study provides the broadest overview of MSCU structure and operations to date, proposing a practical classification framework for benchmarking and capacity-building, with implications for future research and policy-making.
by Per Soelberg Sörensen, Paola F. Zaratin, Mario Alberto Battaglia, Gilles Edan, Sara Samadzadeh, Letizia Leocani, Jefferson Becker, Jose Flores, Fernando Hamuy, Edgardo Cristiano, Liliana Patrucco, Xavier Montalbán, Hans-Peter Hartung, Giancarlo Comi, Oscar F. Fernandez
