Rechdi Ahdab1, Mohammad Hassan A Noureldine2, Kamel Mohammedi3, Manal Nader4, Hela G Zouari5, Tarik Nordine6, Alain Créange7, Jean-Pascal Lefaucheur8, Samar S Ayache9. 1. Division of Neurology, Lebanese American University Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon; Hamidy Charitable Medical Center, Tripoli, Lebanon. Electronic address: rechdi.ahdab@laumcrh.com. 2. Division of Neurosurgery, Lebanese American University Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: mohammadhassan.noureldine@lau.edu. 3. University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine of Bordeaux, France; The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, Australia. 4. Division of Neurology, Lebanese American University Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon. 5. EA 4391, Excitabilité Nerveuse et Thérapeutique, Université Paris-Est-Créteil, Créteil, France; Service de Physiologie - Explorations Fonctionnelles, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, 51 avenue de Lattre de Tassigny, 94010, Créteil, France; Service d'Explorations Fonctionnelles, CHU Habib Bourguiba, Sfax, Tunisia. 6. EA 4391, Excitabilité Nerveuse et Thérapeutique, Université Paris-Est-Créteil, Créteil, France; Service de Physiologie - Explorations Fonctionnelles, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, 51 avenue de Lattre de Tassigny, 94010, Créteil, France. Electronic address: tarik.nordine@hmn.aphp.fr. 7. EA 4391, Excitabilité Nerveuse et Thérapeutique, Université Paris-Est-Créteil, Créteil, France; Service de Neurologie, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, 51 avenue de Lattre de Tassigny, 94010, Créteil, France. Electronic address: alain.creange@hmn.aphp.fr. 8. EA 4391, Excitabilité Nerveuse et Thérapeutique, Université Paris-Est-Créteil, Créteil, France; Service de Physiologie - Explorations Fonctionnelles, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, 51 avenue de Lattre de Tassigny, 94010, Créteil, France. Electronic address: jean-pascal.lefaucheur@hmn.aphp.fr. 9. Division of Neurology, Lebanese American University Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon; EA 4391, Excitabilité Nerveuse et Thérapeutique, Université Paris-Est-Créteil, Créteil, France; Service de Physiologie - Explorations Fonctionnelles, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, 51 avenue de Lattre de Tassigny, 94010, Créteil, France. Electronic address: samarayache@gmail.com.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To explore the value of a novel sensory criterion, the ulnar ratio - defined as the SNAP amplitude of the palmar cutaneous (pUN) over that of the dorsal branch (dUN) of the ulnar nerve - as a predictor of Acute Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (AIDP). METHODS: We prospectively included 22 patients with AIDP, 20 patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), and 18 controls. Eligible subjects underwent nerve conduction studies including, among others, the dUN, pUN, and sural nerve. RESULTS: A sural sparing pattern was found in 72% of AIDP cases. The ulnar ratio was significantly lower in patients with AIDP compared to those with DPN or controls. The ROC curve area to discriminate AIDP (versus controls and diabetics together) was higher with the ulnar ratio and pUN compared to dUN. An ulnar ratio ≥ 0.78 seems to be the best threshold to rule out the diagnosis of AIDP, with a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 87%. The ulnar ratio was equally reliable in the subgroup of patients presenting within a week of symptoms onset. CONCLUSION: The ulnar ratio is a highly sensitive and specific marker of AIDP and can help confirm the diagnosis when direct signs of demyelination are lacking. SIGNIFICANCE: Incorporating specific sensory abnormalities, such as the ulnar ratio, in the electrodiagnostic criteria of AIDP could enhance their reliability.
OBJECTIVES: To explore the value of a novel sensory criterion, the ulnar ratio - defined as the SNAP amplitude of the palmar cutaneous (pUN) over that of the dorsal branch (dUN) of the ulnar nerve - as a predictor of Acute Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (AIDP). METHODS: We prospectively included 22 patients with AIDP, 20 patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), and 18 controls. Eligible subjects underwent nerve conduction studies including, among others, the dUN, pUN, and sural nerve. RESULTS: A sural sparing pattern was found in 72% of AIDP cases. The ulnar ratio was significantly lower in patients with AIDP compared to those with DPN or controls. The ROC curve area to discriminate AIDP (versus controls and diabetics together) was higher with the ulnar ratio and pUN compared to dUN. An ulnar ratio ≥ 0.78 seems to be the best threshold to rule out the diagnosis of AIDP, with a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 87%. The ulnar ratio was equally reliable in the subgroup of patients presenting within a week of symptoms onset. CONCLUSION: The ulnar ratio is a highly sensitive and specific marker of AIDP and can help confirm the diagnosis when direct signs of demyelination are lacking. SIGNIFICANCE: Incorporating specific sensory abnormalities, such as the ulnar ratio, in the electrodiagnostic criteria of AIDP could enhance their reliability.