Pudendal and median nerve sensory perception threshold: a comparison between normative studies

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Clinical Electrophysiology
• Sensory Physiology

Background:

• Accurate evaluation of sensory innervation relies on established normative data for comparison.
• Existing normative data may lack consistency, impacting clinical assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare current perception thresholds (CPTs) of the median and pudendal nerves with existing normative data.
• To assess the reliability and agreement of normative data across different studies.

Main Methods:

• Healthy volunteers (n=41) underwent assessment of 2000 Hz, 250 Hz, and 5 Hz CPTs for the median and pudendal nerves.
• Collected data were statistically compared with normative data from relevant scientific literature.

Main Results:

• Significant variability was observed in normative data for the pudendal nerve across studies.
• Limited agreement was found for median nerve CPTs, with consistency only at 2 kHz and 5 Hz in select studies.
• No significant gender-based differences were found for median nerve CPTs, and only 250 Hz for the pudendal nerve.

Conclusions:

• There is poor agreement among normative data from different studies for sensory nerve evaluation.
• Referencing external normative data for clinical assessments, especially for the pudendal nerve, should be done with considerable caution.