Electrophysiologic quantification of distal polyneuropathy in diabetes

Electrophysiologic studies of the lower limb (reflex, motor, and sensory) were done in 50 diabetics, 30 of whom were age- and sex-matched with controls. The results were analyzed by a 0 to 9 rating--electrophysiologic polyneuropathy (EPN) score. The median EPN scores were 0.5 in controls and 3.5 in diabetics (p less than 0.001). Diabetics with mild or no distal polyneuropathy (DPN) had a median EPN score of 2.4 compared with 4.7 in those with overt DPN (p less than 0.0001). The EPN score correlated positively with known duration of diabetes and showed differences with age and therapy. It provides a single electrophysiologic parameter for evaluating DPN in diabetics.