Versailles minimal dataset for diagnosis of ALS: a distillate of the 2nd Consensus Conference on accelerating the diagnosis of ALS. Versailles 2nd Consensus Conference participants

Abstract

The 2nd Consensus Conference (Versailles) recommended that an ALS knowledge-base for initial healthcare providers, diagnosing neurologists and confirming neurologists should be defined to include a simplified version of diagnostic criteria less formal than the World Federation of Neurology El Escorial Revisted Criteria ('ALS diagnosis - An algorithm'), a set of rules concerning red flags which should increase the suspicion of ALS as the diagnosis and minimize the time between suspicion and referral for confirmation of diagnosis ('ALS axioms of referral'), as well as a site of symptom onset-specific checklist of minimal clinical examination, neuroimaging, electrodiagnostic, pulmonary function and laboratory test information required to confirm the diagnosis of ALS ('Versailles minimal dataset'). Although introductory discussions addressed the advantages and disadvantages of earlier diagnosis, false-positive or false-negative diagnosis, the frequency of follow-up and what potential biological markers to be followed, these issues will have to be further evaluated at future consensus conferences.