Variability in the clinical diagnosis of diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Abstract

The aims of this study are to assess the variability in the prevalence of diabeticperipheral neuropathy (DPN), according to the diagnostic and clinical guidelines used.Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted of 111 patients with diabetesmellitus. The presence/absence of DPN was determined according to 12 different criteriastipulated in various clinical guidelines (ADA 2018, IWGDF 2016, IDF 2012 and CONUEI 2018).The Cohen’s kappa coefficient ( ) was performed to determine the degree of agreement forDPN diagnosis among the different criteria.Results: The recorded prevalence of DPN ranged from 13.1% (criterion ADA 2018) to 68.5%(criterion IDF 2012). The sensory parameter that was most commonly affected was the non-perception of vibration (68.5%) and the absence of Achilles reflexes (59.4%). IWGDF, based onthe use of a monofilament, cotton wisp and tuning fork, was the test with more agreements,presenting good agreement with 2 criteria from ADA 2018 (k = 0.845), 1b2 (k = 0.817), 2 criteriafrom IWGDF 2016 (k = 0.933), (k = 0.817), 1 criteria from IDF 2012 (k = 0.845) and 1 criteria fromCONUEI 2018 (k = 0.860), all p < 0.001.Conclusion: The IWGDF criterion based on the use of a monofilament, cotton wisp and tuningfork for the diagnosis presented the highest level of concordance with the other criteria(>0.8).