Author response: Beware of deep water after subthalamic deep brain stimulation
DanielWaldvogel, Neurologist, University Hospital Zurich
Christian R.Baumann, Neurologist, University Hospital Zurich
Submitted July 22, 2020
We thank Ferreira et al. for their interest in our publication.1 As highlighted in their comment, swimming can be a difficult task for patients with Parkinson disease. In our publication, we, therefore, cited their important contribution for raising the awareness of this serious issue.
The novelty of our paper was the observation that our patients remained good swimmers after developing Parkinson disease while on dopaminergic treatment and only lost their ability to swim after initiation of deep brain stimulation (DBS) treatment. Thus, this potentially life-threatening side effect of DBS should be recognized and communicated to patients.
We most certainly agree with Dr. Ferreira and his team that we all need to pay attention and to continue studying this important safety issue.
Disclosure
The authors report no relevant disclosures. Contact journal@neurology.org for full disclosures.
References
Waldvogel D, Baumann-Vogel H, Stieglitz L, Hänggi-Schickli R, Baumann CR. Beware of deep water after subthalamic deep brain stimulation. Neurology 2020;94:39–41.
Neves MA, Bouça-Machado R, Guerreiro D, Caniça V, Ferreira JJ. Risk of drowning in people with Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord 2018;33:1507–1508.
We thank Ferreira et al. for their interest in our publication.1 As highlighted in their comment, swimming can be a difficult task for patients with Parkinson disease. In our publication, we, therefore, cited their important contribution for raising the awareness of this serious issue.
The novelty of our paper was the observation that our patients remained good swimmers after developing Parkinson disease while on dopaminergic treatment and only lost their ability to swim after initiation of deep brain stimulation (DBS) treatment. Thus, this potentially life-threatening side effect of DBS should be recognized and communicated to patients.
We most certainly agree with Dr. Ferreira and his team that we all need to pay attention and to continue studying this important safety issue.
Disclosure
The authors report no relevant disclosures. Contact journal@neurology.org for full disclosures.
References