title: A clinical pattern-based etiological diagnostic strategy for sensory neuronopathies: a French collaborative study.
abstract: Sensory neuronopathies (SNNs) encompass paraneoplastic, infectious, dysimmune, toxic, inherited, and idiopathic disorders. Recently described diagnostic criteria allow SNN to be differentiated from other forms of sensory neuropathy, but there is no validated strategy based on routine clinical investigations for the etiological diagnosis of SNN. In a multicenter study, the clinical, biological, and electrophysiological characteristics of 148 patients with SNN were analyzed. Multiple correspondence analysis and logistic regression were used to identify patterns differentiating between forms of SNNs with different etiologies. Models were constructed using a study population of 88 patients and checked using a test population of 60 cases. Four patterns were identified. Pattern A, with an acute or subacute onset in the four limbs or arms, early pain, and frequently affecting males over 60 years of age, identified mainly paraneoplastic, toxic, and infectious SNN. Pattern B identified patients with progressive SNN and was divided into patterns C and D, the former corresponding to patients with inherited or slowly progressive idiopathic SNN with severe ataxia and electrophysiological abnormalities and the latter to patients with idiopathic, dysimmune, and sometimes paraneoplastic SNN with a more rapid course than in pattern C. The diagnostic strategy based on these patterns correctly identified 84/88 and 58/60 patients in the study and test populations, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Département de Neurologie, Centre de Référence Maladies Neuromusculaires Rares Rhône-Alpes, CHU de Saint-Etienne, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Philippe
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Camdessanché
authors.forename: Guillemette
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jousserand
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Franques
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pouget
authors.forename: Emilien
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Delmont
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Créange
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuntzer
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maisonobe
authors.forename: Karima
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Abba
authors.forename: Jean-Christophe
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Antoine
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020364:Paraneoplastic Polyneuropathy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D011115:Polyneuropathies / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*