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NEUROLOGY 2006;67:902-904
© 2006 American Academy of Neurology
Brief Communications

Caregiver time use in ALS

A. Chiò, MD, A. Gauthier, PsyD, A. Vignola, PsyD, A. Calvo, MD, P. Ghiglione, E. Cavallo, MD, A. A. Terreni, MD and R. Mutani, MD

From the Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Italy.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Adriano Chiò, Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Via Cherasco 15, 10126 Torino, Italy; e-mail: achio{at}usa.net.

The authors evaluated the caregiver time for 70 patients with ALS. The mean number of caregivers per patient was 2.0 (SD 1.3). Caregiver time increased with worsening of disability (p = 0.0001). The most time-consuming duties were housekeeping, feeding, and toileting. With worsening of patients' disability, families relied increasingly on paid caregivers. Caregiver time is a hidden cost of ALS care and is a major burden for caregivers.

This work was partly supported by Ricerca Sanitaria Finalizzata, Regione Piemonte, 2004.

Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Received February 7, 2006. Accepted in final form May 4, 2006.




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