Fabry Vincent, Gerdelat Angélique, Acket Blandine, Cintas Pascal, Rousseau Vanessa, Uro-Coste Emmanuelle, Evrard Solène M, Pavy-Le Traon Anne
Department of Neurology, Toulouse University Hospital, Toulouse, France.
University of Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
Front Neurol. 2020 May 5;11:342. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2020.00342. eCollection 2020.
Small fiber neuropathies (SFN) induce pain and/or autonomic symptoms. The diagnosis of SFN poses a challenge because the role of skin biopsy as a reference method and of each neurophysiological test remain to be discussed. This study compares six methods evaluating small sensory and autonomic nerve fibers: skin biopsy, Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST), quantitative sweat measurement system (Q-Sweat), Laser Evoked Potentials (LEP), Electrochemical Skin Conductance (ESC) measurement and Autonomic CardioVascular Tests (ACVT). This is a single center, retrospective study including patients tested for symptoms compatible with SFN between 2013 and 2016 using the afore-mentioned tests. Patients were ultimately classified according to the results and clinical features as "definite SFN," "possible SFN" or "no SFN." The sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of each test were calculated based on the final diagnosis and the best diagnostic strategy was then evaluated. Two hundred and forty-five patients were enrolled (164 females (66.9%), age: 50.4 ± 15 years). The results are as follows: skin biopsy: Se = 58%, Sp = 91%; QST: Se = 72%, Sp = 39%; Q-Sweat: Se = 53%, Sp = 69%; LEP: Se = 66%, Sp = 89%; ESC: Se = 60%, Sp = 89%; Cardiovascular tests: Se = 15%, Sp = 99%. The combination of skin biopsy, LEP, QST and ESC has a Se of 90% and a Sp of 87%. Our study outlines the benefits of combining skin biopsy, ESC, LEP and QST in the diagnosis of SFN.
小纤维神经病变(SFN)会引发疼痛和/或自主神经症状。SFN的诊断颇具挑战,因为皮肤活检作为参考方法以及每项神经生理学检测的作用仍有待探讨。本研究比较了六种评估小感觉神经纤维和自主神经纤维的方法:皮肤活检、定量感觉测试(QST)、定量汗液测量系统(Q-Sweat)、激光诱发电位(LEP)、电化学皮肤电导(ESC)测量以及自主心血管测试(ACVT)。这是一项单中心回顾性研究,纳入了2013年至2016年间因出现与SFN相符症状而接受上述检测的患者。患者最终根据检测结果和临床特征被分类为“确诊SFN”、“可能SFN”或“无SFN”。基于最终诊断计算每项检测的灵敏度(Se)和特异度(Sp),进而评估最佳诊断策略。共纳入245例患者(164例女性(66.9%),年龄:50.4±15岁)。结果如下:皮肤活检:Se = 58%,Sp = 91%;QST:Se = 72%,Sp = 39%;Q-Sweat:Se = 53%,Sp = 69%;LEP:Se = 66%,Sp = 89%;ESC:Se = 60%,Sp = 89%;心血管测试:Se = 15%,Sp = 99%。皮肤活检、LEP、QST和ESC联合使用时,Se为90%,Sp为87%。我们的研究概述了在SFN诊断中联合使用皮肤活检、ESC、LEP和QST的益处。