title: The Thermal Sensitivity Test in Evaluating Outcome after Peripheral Nerve Injury.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability to discriminate temperatures in patients following peripheral nerve injury. Knowing that temperature sensibility is mediated by different receptors, the scores were compared to other functional hand scores in order to determine whether the ability to discriminate temperatures is restored to a different extent compared with other commonly evaluated hand function modalities. The test was performed using the NTE-2 device (Physitemp Instruments Inc., 154 Huron Avenue, Clifton, New Jersey, USA). Out of 57 patients, 27 had normal thermal discrimination scores, and 9 could not tell the temperatures apart in the differences set on the measuring device. Overall, patients with better thermal discrimination had also better hand function as evaluated with different methods. However, some patients who did regain the ability to differentiate temperatures correctly did not have any measurable return of hand function in other tests. Thermal discrimination scores correlated similarly with different functional scores, except for vibration sensibility, which did not show any significant correlation. The development and severity of cold intolerance seem to be unrelated to temperature sense.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Medical University of Gdańsk, Ulica Nowe Ogrody 1-6, 80-803 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ceynowa
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Medical University of Gdańsk, Ulica Nowe Ogrody 1-6, 80-803 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mazurek
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Medical University of Gdańsk, Ulica Nowe Ogrody 1-6, 80-803 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Rafał
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pankowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Medical University of Gdańsk, Ulica Nowe Ogrody 1-6, 80-803 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rocławski
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Medical University of Gdańsk, Ulica Nowe Ogrody 1-6, 80-803 Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Mariusz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Treder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009482:Neurophysiology / Q000379:methods*; D059348:Peripheral Nerve Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013696:Temperature; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing