ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to relate the symptoms attributed to motor-sensitive diabetic polyneuropathy to the findings in the exploration of osteo-tendinous reflexes and vibrative sensibility. DESIGN: We carried out an observation prospective study of a crossover type, where the method of selection was simple random. SETTING: The study was performed in the Carranque Health Centre, Málaga. PATIENTS: The sample consisted of those patients with type II Diabetes and over 40 when first recorded, who were seen by one of five general medical practices over a one-year period. There were 120 in all. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Average age was 65.7 (SD = 9.5). There were 47 men and 73 women. Paraesthesia was reported in 40 cases (33.3%), muscular spasms in 41 (34.1%) and pain in 31 (25.8%). The findings were: lack of Achilles reflex in 65 cases (54.1%) and vibrative anaesthesia in 55 cases (45.8%). Lack of Achilles reflex showed a statistically significant association with nocturnal muscular spasms (p = 0.04) and vibrative anaesthesia (p = 0.001). Vibrative anaesthesia showed a prevalence which was directly proportional to age (p = 0.0003). CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that lack of Achilles reflex and vibrative anaesthesia in diabetic patients are good indicators of the existence of motor-sensitive Polyneuropathy, although vibrative anaesthesia was found to be related to other factors such as age.
