SENSORY NERVE CONDUCTION STUDIES IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE

Abstract

Objective: Evaluation of sensory neuropathy in patients with end stage renal failure by utilizing nerve conduction studies (NCS)
Place and duration: Medical Unit II, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore from Mar to Oct 2006.
Study design: Cross sectional comparative study.
Patients and Methods: Chronic renal failure is an irreversible decline of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) below 15 ml/min. Thirty patients who had serum creatinine above 5mg/dl for at least three months duration were included by purposive sampling. Patients with diabetes mellitus, paraplegia, systemic lupus eryethmatosis, polyarteritis nodosa, alcoholism and drug induced neuropathies were excluded. Patients were further segregated into two groups on the basis of either receiving hemodialysis or not. In group C-I twenty patients on regular hemodialysis were included. In group C-II ten patients were included with end stage renal failure waiting for hemodialysis or have refused dialysis. Thirty age and gender matched controls were also included. Sensory nerve conduction studies in upper limb were done by testing median nerve and in lower limb by testing the sural nerve. Parameters of sensory conduction studies checked were latencies, amplitudes and conduction velocities.
Results: Median nerve latency was significantly higher, amplitude and velocity were significantly lower in C-I and C-II groups as compared to controls (p< 0.05) but the difference in C-I and C-II group was insignificant (p > 0.05). Sural nerve latency was significantly higher, amplitude and velocity were significantly lower in C-I and C-II groups as compared to controls (p< 0.05) but the difference in C-I and C-II group was insignificant (p > 0.05).
Conclusions: Evaluation of sensory neuropathy by utilizing sensory nerve conduction studies can be used as a reliable test for initial diagnosis or monitoring the patients with chronic renal failure.