TY - JOUR T1 - Improving the diagnostic accuracy in parkinsonism: a three-pronged approach JF - Practical Neurology JO - Pract Neurol SP - 77 LP - 87 DO - 10.1136/practneurol-2011-000132 VL - 12 IS - 2 AU - Marjolein B Aerts AU - Rianne A J Esselink AU - Bart Post AU - Bart P C van de Warrenburg AU - Bastiaan R Bloem Y1 - 2012/04/01 UR - http://pn.bmj.com/content/12/2/77.abstract N2 - Separating Parkinson's disease from the various causes of atypical parkinsonism (AP) is a common and clinically relevant challenge in clinical practice. Distinguishing between the different causes of AP is even more difficult. Here the authors discuss a systematic, clinically based and three-pronged approach that can assist clinicians in establishing the correct diagnosis in the consulting room. The three consecutive steps include: (1) to verify that the clinical syndrome truly represents parkinsonism (hypokinetic–rigid syndrome); (2) to search systematically for ‘red flags’ (alarm signs that may signal the presence of AP); and (3) to integrate these two steps, as a basis for a narrow differential diagnosis and a guide for further ancillary tests. ER -