Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2002 Sep;78(923):541-2.
doi: 10.1136/pmj.78.923.541.

Early recognition of diabetic neuropathy: evaluation of a simple outpatient procedure using thermal perception

V Viswanathan  1 , C Snehalatha, R Seena, A Ramachandran
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Early recognition of diabetic neuropathy: evaluation of a simple outpatient procedure using thermal perception

V Viswanathan et al. Postgrad Med J. 2002 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of Tip-therm, a temperature discriminator, in making an early diagnosis of distal symmetrical polyneuropathy in diabetic patients and to compare its effectiveness with the Semmes-Weinstein monofilament and biothesiometry, which are established methods of diagnosing neuropathy in diabetic patients.

Patients and methods: From the diabetic subjects who came to the hospital for review, 910 consecutive cases were selected. All were tested with the Semmes-Weinstein monofilament (10 g monofilament) and biothesiometry and also by using the Tip-therm for comparison.

Results: Out of the 241 patients who had no sensation to the monofilament only four (1.7%) felt Tip-therm whereas 237 (98.3%) patients could not feel Tip-therm. Among 298 patients diagnosed as having neuropathy by biothesiometry, only eight (2.7%) patients exhibited sensation with Tip-therm while 290 (97.3%) patients could not feel it.

Conclusion: A simple device, Tip-therm, which tests for temperature discrimination, was compared with two validated methods for detection of neuropathy-a monofilament and biothesiometry. Tip-therm appears to be an inexpensive, highly sensitive, and specific device for detection of diabetic neuropathy when compared with biothesiometry and a monofilament.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Arch Neurol. 1976 Mar;33(3):164-71 - PubMed
    1. Pain. 1988 Jul;34(1):1-10 - PubMed
    1. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 1992 Feb;71(1):44-7 - PubMed
    1. Clin Ther. 1998 Jan-Feb;20(1):169-81 - PubMed
    1. N Engl J Med. 1994 Sep 29;331(13):854-60 - PubMed