Department of Spinal Surgery, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China.
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Hospital, Beijing, China.
PLoS One. 2020 Nov 17;15(11):e0242490. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242490. eCollection 2020.
The quantitative measurement of current perception threshold (CPT) has been used as a method to assess the function of nerve fibers in neuropathy diseases. The aim of this study was to assess the test-retest reliability measuring CPT using the circular pin electrodes for assessing the function of cutaneous thin nerve fibers.
CPT measurement was repeated on two separate days with at least one-week interval in 55 volunteers. Superficial blood flow (SBF) and skin temperature (ST) were measured on the skin in an around area concentric to the circular pin electrodes after the process of finding CPTs. The coefficient of variation (CV) and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated. The correlation between each two of CPT, SBF increment and ST increment was analyzed.
No significant differences were found for CPT, SBF and ST between two sessions. SBF was found to be significantly increased after the process of finding CPT. CPT values of males were found to be higher than females. SBF increment was found to be positively correlated with ST increment. The ICC values for CPT, SBF and ST were 0.595, 0.852 and 0.728, respectively. The CV values for CPT, SBF and ST were 25.53%, 12.59% and 1.94%, respectively.
The reliability of CPT measurement using circular pin electrodes is fair, and need consistence of measurements in longitudinal studies.
电流感觉阈值（CPT）的定量测量已被用于评估神经纤维在周围神经病变中的功能。本研究旨在评估使用圆形针电极评估皮肤细纤维功能的 CPT 测试-重测可靠性。
55 名志愿者至少间隔一周进行两次 CPT 测量。在找到 CPT 后，测量圆形针电极周围区域皮肤的浅层血流（SBF）和皮肤温度（ST）。计算变异系数（CV）和组内相关系数（ICC）。分析每个 CPT 与 SBF 增量和 ST 增量之间的相关性。
两次测试之间 CPT、SBF 和 ST 无显著差异。在找到 CPT 后，SBF 显著增加。男性的 CPT 值高于女性。SBF 增量与 ST 增量呈正相关。CPT、SBF 和 ST 的 ICC 值分别为 0.595、0.852 和 0.728。CPT、SBF 和 ST 的 CV 值分别为 25.53%、12.59%和 1.94%。
使用圆形针电极测量 CPT 的可靠性尚可，在纵向研究中需要测量一致性。
