HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Perkins, B. A. Articles by Bril, V. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Perkins, B. A. Articles by Bril, V. Social Bookmarking                What's this?

Validation of a Novel Point-of-Care Nerve Conduction Device for the Detection of Diabetic Sensorimotor Polyneuropathy

¹ University Health Network, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
² University Health Network, Division of Neurology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Bruce A. Perkins, MD, MPH, Toronto General Hospital, 200 Elizabeth St., Room EN-12-217, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 2C4. E-mail: bruce.perkins{at}uhn.on.ca

OBJECTIVE—The diagnosis of diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy using objective electrophysiological tests is hindered by limited access to the specialized laboratories and technicians that perform and interpret them. We evaluated the performance characteristics of a novel portable and automated point-of-care nerve conduction study device, which can be operated by nontechnical personnel, and compared it with conventional nerve conduction studies performed in a specialist setting.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Seventy-two consecutive patients with diabetes (8 type 1, 64 type 2) from a diabetes and a neuropathy outpatient clinic were evaluated concurrently with conventional nerve conduction studies (the reference standard) and the point-of-care device for sural nerve function (sural nerve amplitude potentials in microvolts [µV]).

RESULTS—Sural nerve amplitude potentials measured by the point-of-care device shared very strong correlation with the reference standard (Spearman’s correlation coefficient 0.95, P < 0.001). The Bland and Altman method yielded agreement despite a small systematic underestimation by the point-of-care device of 1.2 ± 3.4 µV. Despite this small systematic bias, the sensitivity and specificity of normal and abnormal sural nerve amplitude potentials measured by the point-of-care device for the detection of diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy defined by standard clinical and electrophysiological criteria were 92 and 82%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS—A novel point-of-care device has excellent diagnostic accuracy for detecting electrophysiological abnormality in the sural nerve of patients who have diabetes. This automated device represents an alternative to conventional nerve conduction studies for the diagnosis of diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy.

CiteULike    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. A. Lavery, D. P. Murdoch, J. Williams, and D. C. Lavery Does Anodyne Light Therapy Improve Peripheral Neuropathy in Diabetes?: A double-blind, sham-controlled, randomized trial to evaluate monochromatic infrared photoenergy Diabetes Care, February 1, 2008; 31(2): 316 - 321. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]