A Study on the Utility of Nerve Conduction Studies in the Diagnosis of Subclinical Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (original) (raw)

Introduction: Peripheral neuropathy is the commonest incapacitating complication of diabetes mellitus. Many of the patients are asymptomatic for neuropathy thus developing diabetic foot and ulceration, ultimately leading to amputation. Study aimed to detect subclinical diabetic peripheral neuropathy in early stages by using nerve conduction studies. Material and methods: Cases consisted of one hundred patients of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus but asymptomatic for peripheral neuropathy. Twenty-five normal, healthy individuals served as controls. The studies of distal latency, amplitude and conduction velocity of motor fibers of right and left peroneal and tibial nerves were performed. Results: There was a statistically significant decrease in motor nerve conduction velocity and prolongation of distal latency for both peroneal and tibial nerves on either side in cases versus controls. The CMAP (compound muscle action potential) amplitude in right and left peroneal nerves was less in cases as compared to controls, which was statistically significant for left side but not for right side. CMAP amplitude was statistically significantly less in cases versus controls for right tibial nerve, but for left tibial nerve there was a statistically insignificant increase. Data are presented as mean ± SD. Results were evaluated by unpaired t-test. A level of P <0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. Conclusion: Nerve conduction studies (NCS) being simple and non-invasive technique can be used routinely to diagnose diabetic neuropathy in early stages so that proper treatment can be instituted to obtain good outcome.