A Comparison of Screening Tools for the Early Detection of Peripheral Neuropathy in Adults with and without Type 2 Diabetes

Objective. examine the effectiveness of the 128 hz tuning fork,two monofilaments,and norfolk quality of life diabetic neuropathy (qol-dn) questionnaire as tools for the early detection of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (dpn) in overweight,obese,and inactive (ooi) adults or those who have prediabetes (pd) or type 2 diabetes (t2d). research design and methods. thirty-four adults (mean age 58.4 years ± 12.1) were divided by glycemia (10 ooi normoglycemic,13 pd,and 11 t2d). sural nerves were tested bilaterally with the nc-stat dpncheck to determine sural nerve amplitude potential (snap) and sural nerve conduction velocity (sncv). all other testing results were compared to snap and sncv. results. total 1 g monofilament scores significantly correlated with snap values and yielded the highest sensitivity and specificity combinations of tested measures. total qol-dn scores negatively correlated with snap values,as did qol-dn symptoms. qol-dn activities of daily living correlated with the right snap,and the qol-dn small fiber subscore correlated with sncv. conclusions. the 1 g monofilament and total qol-dn are effective,low-cost tools for the early detection of dpn in ooi,pd,and t2d adults. the 128 hz tuning fork and 10 g monofilament may assist dpn screening as a tandem,but not primary,early dpn detection screening tools. © 2017 jennifer j. brown et al.