ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To explore potential differences in motor nerve excitability testing (NET) variables at group levels between patients with a clinical diagnosis of polyneuropathy (PNP), which did not fulfil diagnostic criteria of conventional nerve conduction studies (NCS) and patients without polyneuropathy. Such differences could support a role for NET in increasing the diagnostic sensitivity of NCS in chronic axonal PNP. METHODS: Motor NET was performed using the median nerve in patients with a clinical suspicion of PNP in addition to conventional NCS, skin biopsies, corneal confocal microscopy and structured clinical evaluation including scoring of neuropathy symptoms and signs. RESULTS: Of the 57 patients included, 32 had PNP, half of which had NCS, which fulfilled criteria for PNP (NCS+ PNP). There were no significant differences for any of the NET variables between PNP patients with non-diagnostic conventional NCS (NCS- PNP) and patients without PNP. Rheobase was increased, and Ted (undershoot) and subexcitability were decreased in NCS+ PNP. Sural amplitude, peroneal nerve F-wave latency and tibial nerve F-wave-latency were correlated with subexcitability, and tibial nerve motor amplitude was correlated with rheobase. CONCLUSIONS: NET was correlated with conventional NCS and no differences were found between NCS- PNP patients and patients without PNP. SIGNIFICANCE: NET does not seem to offer any additional diagnostic value in chronic mixed etiology neuropathy.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Previous studies demonstrated a 3-5-fold increased cancer risk in kidney allograft recipients compared with the general population. Our aim was to estimate cancer frequencies among kidney allograft recipients who were transplanted in 1997-2000 and who were immunosuppressed according to a more modern steroid-free standard protocol based on basixilimab, ciclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients receiving their first kidney allograft in 1997-2000 at Odense University Hospital, Denmark (n = 90). Histologically verified cancers were identified from a detailed search of the individual patient's medical records. RESULTS: During an average follow-up time of 8.4 years, a total of 14 cancers were observed. The cancer incidence rate was 18.5 (95% confidence interval (CI): 11.0-31.3) per 1,000 years, and the cancer prevalence was 13.4% (95% CI: 5.6-21.2%) among survivors in 2007. The relative risk of prevalent cancer was 3.6 (95% CI: 2.0-6.5) compared with the general population. Patients with cancer had a poorer survival than patients without cancer. CONCLUSION: The observed cancer incidence rate and prevalence were similar to figures derived from studies performed in the earlier eras of kidney transplantation. Reducing cancer rates after kidney transplantation remains an important challenge for nephrologists. FUNDING: not relevant. TRIAL REGISTRATION: not relevant.
