Interest of Sudoscan in the detection of diabetic peripheral neuropathy

Introduction: Disturbance of pain sensation is considered one of the major initial risk factors for diabetic foot ulcers. Sweat dysfunction leading to abnormal skin conditions, including dryness and fissures, may increase the risk of foot ulcer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the Sudoscan, a new rapid, non-invasive, quantitative method for early detection of diabetic peripheral neuropathy by measuring sweat electrical conduction (SEC).

Patients and methods: We conducted this study on 85 type 2 diabetic patients. The data of the study were collected through a questionnaire, clinical examination (DN4, monofilament) and sudoscan for SEC.

Results: We recruited 85 patients, the average age of the subjects was 58.32 ± 10.89 years. 77.6% were women and 22.4% were men. A significant proportion (67%) of our study population had a duration of diabetes of less than 10 years, Among 85 patients 40% had a positive DN4 and only 17.2% of the participants had a positive monofilamant test. 52.9% of the patients had a moderate dysfunction of the electrical conduction of sweat (SEC) and only 29.4% had a severe dysfunction, and 17.6% of the patients had a normal conduction we did not objectify a significant correlation between the sudoscan and the other tests notably the DN4 and the monofilament.

Conclusion: The Sudoscan is a reproducible technique, with a high specificity, it is a simple test for the detection of neuropathy diabetic peripheral allowing an early prevention of foot lesions.