[Clinical and electromyographic findings in patients with diabetic polyneuropathy]

Diabetic neuropathy represents a polyneuropathy with electrophiosiological alterations. Electroneuromyography (NMD) plays an important role in the evaluation of patient with diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) and doubtful neuropathy.

To determine clinical manifestations in patients with distal symmetrical sensory polyneuropathy (DSSP) and to correlate them with electromyographic alterations.

Transversal, analytical study. 138 patients over 18 years old, with DM2 and PSSD were selected. They underwent physical examination, laboratory studies and electromyography (EM) with 4-channel Nicolet electromyograph. Measures of central tendency and their dispersion were analyzed; data normality with Kolmogorov-Smirnov; Student's t test and Spearman's correlation.

Thalar hyperkeratosis was the most frequent clinical finding in 103 (74%) patients. The most frequent symptoms were paresthesia in 132 (95.7%) patients and tingling in 93 (67.4%) patients. Exploration of superficial sensitivity determined neuropathy in 42 (30.4%) patients finding greater insensitivity in the medial plantar nerve territory. In the EM, the nerve with the greatest absent response was the left lateral plantar nerve in 51 (59%) patients. A significant correlation (p < 0.05) was found between the variables of EM with age, years of evolution and levels of glycated hemoglobin A1c.

The higher the lack of glycemic control, the chronobiology of the patient and the time of illness, the greater the electromyographic affection.