[Post-polio syndrome: a review of its clinical characteristics and treatment].

INTRODUCTION: Post-polio syndrome (PPS) is recognised as a clinical syndrome that causes the late, progressive functional impairment suffered by survivors of an acute episode of poliomyelitis. The importance of PPS is acknowledged by increasingly wider sectors of the population and health care sectors; nevertheless, few reports have been published about its epidemiology or its clinical characteristics and treatment.

AIM: To review the current scientific evidence available on the clinical manifestations, risk factors, prevalence, diagnosis and recommendations for treatment of PPS.

DEVELOPMENT: We conducted a review of the medical literature in the MEDLINE database. The search was restricted to studies conducted in humans that had been published as complete works in English and/or Spanish up to December 2004.

CONCLUSIONS: PPS is recognised as being a specific neurological syndrome that appears several decades after the acute episode of polio; it exacerbates the motor sequelae already present in these patients and reduces their functional capacity to a point where it affects their activities of daily living. Its causation has still not been clearly identified and it constitutes a process that is difficult to diagnose and manage. In addition, no specific treatment has been developed for this condition to date. Nevertheless, the psychological and functional impact it has on its victims and the possibility of bringing about a significant improvement in the symptoms call for a greater effort by professionals to identify the clinical needs imposed by the syndrome and to break down some of the health care barriers that currently exist.