The feasibility of using high frequency ultrasound to assess nerve ending neuropathy in patients with diabetic foot.
OBJECTIVE
The nerve ending problem is one of the major causes for diabetic feet. In this work, we explored the feasibilities of using high frequency ultrasound (US) in nerve ending problem evaluation for patients with diabetic foot.


METHODS
The endings of the medial branch of deep peroneal nerves (mbDPN) were interrogated by US, and the nerve conduction characters were studied in a cohort of 19 clinically diagnosed diabetic feet patients and a control group of healthy volunteers.


RESULTS
Distinct echoic appearances were consistently detected between the mbDPN nerves of diabetic feet patients and healthy volunteers. In healthy volunteers, hypoechoic bands were readily observed at the anatomical locations of mbDPNs. However, these hypoechoic bands of the mbDPNs were not clear in the diabetic feet patients, and the surfaces of the mbDPNs appeared obscure and irregular in these patients relative to those of healthy volunteers. In addition, the US echoes of mbDPN in patients with diabetic feet were more heterogeneous than those in healthy volunteers. The mean diameters of mbDPNs were 1.3±0.4 mm in patients with diabetic foot and 0.8±0.2 mm in the control group (P<0.05). Finally, results from the nerve conduction studies (NCS) showed abnormalities in patients with diabetic feet syndrome.


CONCLUSIONS
High frequency US can be a useful modality for evaluating nerve ending problems in diabetic feet patient; and the mbDPN enlargement, obscurity, surface irregularity and heterogeneity in echo can serve as the markers indicating nerve ending problems in the diabetic feet patients under ultrasound interrogation.
Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 76 Linjiang Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 400010, China. zhengyuanyi@gmail.com
Yuanyi
Y
Zheng
Lihua
L
Wang
Tianyi M
TM
Krupka
Zhigang
Z
Wang
Guangmin
G
Lu
Ping
P
Zhang
Guoqing
G
Zuo
Pan
P
Li
Haitao
H
Ran
Huagang
H
Jian
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017719:Diabetic Foot / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009411:Nerve Endings / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010543:Peroneal Nerve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D020427:Peroneal Neuropathies / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014463:Ultrasonography