Croydon neurology – The burden of functional neurological disorder in our outpatient & inpatient settings

<h3></h3> Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) is a complex chronic condition with a reported annual incidence of 4-12/100,000. The identification of the incidence of FND allows for an improved understanding of the level of demand on healthcare resources, allowing for appropriate resource allocation and improved patient management. Our aim was to determine the burden of FND in Croydon in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Hospital data, anonymized patient notes from both inpatient ward referrals (n=713) and outpatient department consultations (n=2982) were reviewed to determine the incidence of FND from 01/01/2021 to 30/06/2021. Patient factors such as demographics, clinical presentation, psychiatric histories, and examination findings were collated. 40/713 (5.61%) inpatients and 42/1365 appointments (3.08%) were diagnosed with FND over a 6-month period. The results showed the observed burden was noted to be 21.5/100,000 in inpatient settings and 10.75/100,000 in OPD. The observed burden of FND in Croydon is higher than originally stipulated. Additionally, variable coding suggests that levels of FND in Croydon are potentially higher than indicated. We hypothesize socioeconomic deprivation correlates with higher observed FND incidence. This denotes there is a greater demand on the service, which would benefit from further support such as focused care provision.