Endocrine Abstracts

Background & objectives: Vibration perception threshold (VPT) is the gold standard for diagnosis of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The relationship between symptom severity and VPT remains to be determined. This study evaluated the diagnostic utility of symptoms using the NTSS-6 symptom score vis a vis Bio-thesiometry.

Methods: diabetic patients with symptoms suggestive of peripheral neuropathy and 40 apparently healthy controls were studied. Detailed clinical history and physical examination were performed. Peripheral neuropathy was assessed using the Neuropathy total symptoms score-6 questionnaires and testing vibration perception threshold (VPT) with a biothesiometer.

Results: The prevalence of peripheral neuropathy using the NTSS-6 scoring system was 50% and 45.5% using biothesiometer. Numbness was the most predominant symptom followed by burning sensation both amongst those with clinically significant neuropathy.The NTSS-6 scoring had a sensitivity of 66% and a specificity of 66.3%. Age and BMI were statistically significantly associated with clinically significant neuropathy. Significant correlations were observed between the NTSS-6 score and the VPT score. (P-value =0.002, r=0.588).

Conclusions: It is apparent that though symptoms suggestive of peripheral neuropathy (PN) in persons with diabetes mellitus (DM) may not always indicate the presence of pathological PN, symptom scores remain useful tools for assessing DM peripheral neuropathy and correlate well with biothesiometry findings.