Most Scottish neurologists do not apply the 2010 McDonald criteria when diagnosing multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND The diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis have evolved over time and currently the 2010 McDonald criteria are the most widely accepted. These criteria allow the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis to be made at the clinically isolated syndrome stage provided certain criteria are met on a single magnetic resonance brain scan. Our hypothesis was that neurologists in Scotland did not use these criteria routinely. METHOD We sent a SurveyMonkey questionnaire to all Scottish neurologists (consultants and trainees) regarding the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. RESULTS Our questionnaire response rate was 65/99 (66%). Most Scottish neurologists were aware of the criteria and 31/58 (53%) felt that they were using these routinely. However, in a clinical vignette designed to test the application of these criteria, only 5/57 (9%) of neurologists appeared to use them. CONCLUSION Scottish neurologists' use of the 2010 McDonald criteria for diagnosis of multiple sclerosis varies from practitioners' perception of their use of these criteria.