The Netherlands journal of medicine
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Comparative Study
Comparison of clinical examination, current and vibratory perception threshold in diabetic polyneuropathy.
The study of diabetic polyneuropathy is complicated by a lack of clear definitions and the absence of a simple reliable test procedure. Recently, a new sensory perception testing device has been introduced for detection of thresholds for electrical stimuli (current perception: CPT) at different frequencies (Neurometer). We compared standardized clinical examination scores with measurements of vibratory perception threshold (VPT) and CPT (foot) and obtained reproducibility figures. ⋯ Correlations between CPT and VPT were only moderate and maximal at 2000 Hz (r = 0.61). Reproducibility of CPT was good at 2000 Hz (coefficient of variation 13.3-20.2%), but moderate to poor at lower frequencies (ranging to 62%). We conclude that CPT and VPT quantitative sensory testing is only of limited value, mainly because of high variability and poor reproducibility.