Loss of sensation and symptoms of varicose veins related neuropathy: what does the evidence say?
| Author | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
Simonavičiūtė, Kotryna | ||
| Date |
|---|
2021-04-23 |
Poster presentations. Internal Medicine
Buvo eISSN 1648-9233.
Background. Primarily clinicians most often associate peripheral neuropathy (PN) with diabetes. Although not widely recognized clinically, evidence of PN in patients with venous insufficiency (VI) has been reported. PN and painful varicose veins can be distinguished from each other based on a physical examination, however, the statement that varicose veins do not cause a change in sensation, is debated. VI may provoke not only the onset of various symptoms but also a significant elevation of the threshold of sensation in the extremities. Aim. To evaluate whether peripheral critical sensation disorder determining anaesthesia in legs is associated with VI, diabetes and age in ambulatory practice patients (APP). Methods. 238 APP (176 male and 62 female; 58.9±14.9 years) were evaluated for sensation disorder by current perception test (CPT) with the Neurometer® on both legs’ toes at different frequencies: 2000, 250 and 5 Hz. The stimulus was presented with increasing intensity ranging from 0.01 to 9.99 mA until the patient reported that felt the current. At least in one measure having no response to the maximal stimulus at a CPT value of 9.99 mA indicated anaesthesia. Patients were divided into two groups: those with anaesthesia (WA) (n=23; 9.7%) and without anaesthesia (WoA) (n=215; 90.3%). All patients anonymously filled the Varicose Veins Symptoms Questionnaire (VVSymQ®) (heaviness, achiness, swelling, throbbing and itching), also self-reported having (n=114; 47.9 %) or no (n=124; 52.1%) diabetes, having (n=75; 31.5%) or no (n=163; 68.5%) varicose veins (VV). Results were compared using Student t and Fisher Exact tests. Results. WA patients compared to WoA patients had higher VVSymQ® results (7.48 vs. 4.44; p=0.012), felt more often heaviness (65.2% vs. 42.8%; p=0.033) and throbbing (52.2% vs 27.4%; p=0.016) in legs. There were no differences between self-reported patients with or without diabetes, also w[...].