Sensitivity of Electrodiagnostic Parameters in Patients with Asymptomatic Diabetic Neuropathy

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the sensitivity of electrodiagnostic parameters in the patients with asymptomatic diabetic neuropahty. METHOD: The subjects were 26 patients with asymptomatic diabetic neuropathy and 40 healthy adults as control group. All subjects underwent electrodiagnostic evaluation of the following motor nerves median, ulnar, tibial, and peroneal. Sensory nerves included median, ulnar, radial, superficial peroneal, sural, lateral dorsal cutaneous branch of the sural nerve (LDSN) and medial plantar. And other studies were the sural/radial amplitude ratio, LDSN/sural amplitude ratio, peroneal and tibial F-responses, and H-reflex recorded from the soleus muscle. The frequency of abnormal parameters in the patients with asymptomatic diabetic neuropathy was obtained by comparison with the normative limits obtained from the control group. RESULTS: The most frequent abnormal electrodiagnostic parameters were the LDSN onset latency and the amplitude ratio of LDSN/sural (84.6%, respectively) followed by the LDSN peak latency, LDSN amplitude, and medial plantar onset and peak latency (80.8%, respectively). CONCLUSION: We concluded that the LDSN and medial plantar nerve conduction studies are useful for early detection of neuropathy in diabetes mellitus.