To study clinical profile of peripheral neuropathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus using nerve conduction velocity

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes is one of the leading non communicable disease throughout the world. Due to its chronic nature it causes a number of complications. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is one of the most dreaded complications of diabetes as it is associated with significant morbidity. Diagnosis of neuropathy is commonly done by NCV which is a gold standard test for it. Other simpler method to detect early loss of protective vibration sensation, to find out feet at risk of future complications is the need of the hour. Hence this study was done to study the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy in type 2 diabetic patients and to correlate these with patient's age, duration of diabetes, glycemic parameters and other microvascular complications. Methodology: This was a cross sectional study carried out in 40 patients with symptoms of peripheral neuropathy in the Department of General Medicine at Dhiraj General Hospital, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth, Piparia, Vadodara district, Gujarat. All patients were subjected to detailed clinical history, examination of their feet and neuropathy testing by NCV using the RMS NCV/EMG machine using a hand held biothesiometer. Results: Out of the total of 40 patients, 30 were males and 10 were females. Increasing age of the patients, increasing duration of diabetes, smoking and poor glycemic control were significant risk factors for the development of neuropathy. It was also consistently associated with other microvascular complications like retinopathy and nephropathy. The most frequently encountered symptom of neuropathy in our study was burning feet. Conclusion: The study concludes that increasing diabetes duration is an independent and strong risk factor and considering the dreaded complications of end stage diabetic foot disease, routine screening of all type 2 diabetic patients should be done in daily practice.