Femoral neuropathy: A clinical and electrodiagnostic review

Femoral neuropathies can cause severe, prolonged debility, yet there have been few clinical and electrodiagnostic (EDx) studies addressing this condition. The aim of this study was to better understand the etiologies, EDx features, and clinical course of femoral neuropathy.

We identified patients evaluated at Mayo Clinic Rochester between January 1, 1999 and July 31, 2019, with possible new femoral neuropathy ascertained via International Classification of Diseases-versions 9 and 10 diagnosis codes presenting within 6 months of symptom onset.

A retrospective review of 1084 records was performed and we ultimately identified 159 patients with isolated femoral neuropathy for inclusion. The most common femoral neuropathy etiologies were compressive (40%), perioperative stretch (35%), and inflammatory (6%). Presenting symptoms included weakness (96%), sensory loss (73%), and pain (53%). Presenting motor physical exam findings demonstrated moderate weakness (34%) or no activation (25%) of knee extension and mild (32%) or moderate (35%) weakness of hip flexion. Seventy-two percent of patients underwent EDx testing, including 22 with femoral motor nerve conduction studies. Treatment often involved physical therapy (89%) and was otherwise etiology-specific. In patients with follow-up data available (n = 154), 83% had subjective clinical improvement at follow-up with a mean time to initial improvement of 3.3 months and mean time to recovery at final follow-up of 14.8 months. Only 48% of patients had nearly complete or complete recovery.

In our cohort, the most common etiologies of femoral neuropathy were compression or perioperative stretch with high initial morbidity. Although motor recovery is common, improvement is often prolonged and incomplete.