Gait disturbance due to foot drop is refractory to treatment in nonsystemic vasculitic neuropathy.
BACKGROUND
Nonsystemic vasculitic neuropathy (NSVN) is a vasculitis syndrome clinically restricted to the peripheral nervous system. Although treatment may improve prognosis, daily activities of such patients after treatment have not been well studied.


METHODS
We evaluated clinical features, laboratory data, nerve conduction, and sural nerve biopsy findings for 16 unbiased consecutive patients with NSVN.


RESULTS
Initial symptoms included neuropathic pain (31%) and lower limb sensory disturbance (19%). The mean duration between disease onset and initial treatment was 4.1 ± 4.8 months. Mean modified Rankin scale scores were 3.13 at hospital admission and 2.69 at final follow-up. The poor outcome group had significantly decreased compound muscle action potentials of peroneal nerves and significantly more patients presenting with foot drop compared with the good outcome group. No other significant differences were found.


CONCLUSIONS
Pretreatment foot drop signaled poor outcome in daily activities of patients with NSVN, and earlier treatment may be critical for these patients.
Department of Neurology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
Tomoo
T
Hirahara
Satoshi
S
Yamashita
Yohei
Y
Misumi
Kensuke
K
Kawakami
Hiroko
H
Hori
Shoji
S
Honda
Masaki
M
Watanabe
Tokunori
T
Ikeda
Taro
T
Yamashita
Yasushi
Y
Maeda
Yukio
Y
Ando
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D055815:Young Adult
D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents