[Uremic polyneuropathy: a study of vibratory perception threshold in 19 patients]

A vibratory perception threshold study was done in 19 patients with uremic polyneuropathy, using a palesthesiometer. Three patients were maintained in conservative treatment (controls), 7 patients maintained with hemodialysis and 9 patients with peritoneal dialysis, during a period of 4 to 72 months. Abnormal vibratory perception threshold was found in 94.73% when the first toe was studied, 36.84% with the fifth finger and 52.63% with the second finger. The statistical analysis between the hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and control group was non significant. It was not found any correlation between the severity and duration of neuropathy with the low perception threshold. The authors conclude that this is a simple method, easy to be done and very useful in the quantification of the vibratory perception threshold in the uremic patient, but lack specificity regarding severity of the illness.