Relationship between the Diabetic Polyneuropathy Index and the Neurological Findings of Diabetic Polyneuropathy

OBJECTIVE: To achieve an accurate quantification in diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN), we developed a new electrophysiological index that we called the DPN index. The relationship between the DPN index and the neurological findings in diabetic patients was assessed. METHODS: The DPN index was calculated by the mean value of percentages of four parameters (tibial compound muscle action potential amplitude / F wave minimum latency, sural sensory nerve action potential amplitude / sensory nerve conduction velocity) against the mean normal values. Twenty healthy subjects were recruited as a control group. PATIENTS: A total of 348 diabetic patients who were hospitalized in our hospital during the period from December 2016 to August 2019 were retrospectively studied. The correlations between the DPN index and five neurological findings (subjective sensory symptoms, diminished or absent Achilles tendon reflex, impaired tactile and vibration sense, low coefficient of variation of R-R interval) were evaluated. RESULTS: The DPN index in healthy subjects was 129.3±32.7%. The DPN index in diabetic patients with one or more neurological findings was significantly lower than that in diabetic patients without any neurological findings (p<0.01: 89.3±27.8% vs. 118.4±21.2%). For each of the five neurological findings, the DPN index in the group with an abnormality was significantly lower than that in the group without any abnormality (each p<0.01). Spearman's correlation coefficients indicated that a greater number of neurological findings resulted in a lower DPN index (r=-0.711, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Our study suggested that the DPN index is useful for evaluating the severity of DPN.