RETRACTED: Impact of the publication of Chinese treatment guideline on the initial therapy in Parkinson's disease in Beijing (Retracted Article)

Background: The Guideline for Management of Parkinson's Disease in China was published in 2006 to standardize Parkinson's disease treatment. Our objective was to compare the initial PD treatment and their accordance with the recommendations before and after the guideline publication. Methods: We identified 136 PD patients as part of a hospital-based study in Beijing, and compared the prescriptions of dopamine agonists (DA) and levodopa (LD) as initial therapy to evaluate the impact of the publication of Chinese guideline on the therapy of PD. Results: We found that the publication of the guideline resulted in no difference in initial treatment of PD patients> 65 years. In patients< 65 years, the prescription of DA was significantly increased after the publication of the guideline. There were no significant differences in initial treatment between patients treated in hospitals of different levels or patients with different types of insurance. Conclusions: The guideline promoted DA utilization as initial treatment in young patients.