Assessment of Diabetic Neuropathy Using a Point-of-Care Nerve Conduction Device Shows Significant Associations With the LDIFLARE Method and Clinical Neuropathy Scoring

摘要

Background:Accurate assessment of diabetes polyneuropathy (DPN) is important in the prevention of foot ulcerations and amputations. Simple screening methods including the 10 g monofilament and the 128-Hz tuning fork are not sensitive enough nor intended for detection of early neuropathy, while more confirmatory tests such as nerve conduction studies are not universally available. We evaluated a rapid, low-cost, point-of-care nerve conduction device (POCD; NC-stat®|DPNCheck™) for the assessment of DPN and compared it with the LDIFLARE technique—an established method for early detection of small fibre dysfunction.