Key result
Vagus nerve ultrasound links diabetes to a smaller cross-sectional area using a 3 mm2 cutoff.
Why the study?
Does diagnostic ultrasound detect vagus nerve atrophy in patients with diabetes compared to healthy controls?
Case-Control (n=74)
Does diagnostic ultrasound detect vagus nerve atrophy in patients with diabetes compared to healthy controls?
Ultrasound demonstrates vagus nerve atrophy in diabetic patients, which may serve as a diagnostic marker for diabetic autonomic neuropathy.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Vagus nerve ultrasound may aid diabetic neuropathy detection; leaves open clinical utility pending prospective validation.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Autonomic neuropathy is a serious and common complication of diabetes mellitus. The vagus nerve is the longest autonomic nerve, and may be affected in diabetes as a part of generalized neuropathy. Our objective was to assess for possible sonographic changes of the vagus nerve in diabetic patients. METHODS The vagus nerve was bilaterally scanned in 20 healthy volunteers and 54 patients with diabetes in the axial plane at the lateral neck. RESULTS The mean cross‐sectional area of the vagus nerve was significantly smaller in patients with diabetes compared with controls. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses revealed an area under the curve of .96, and an optimum cutoff point of 3 mm2 with a sensitivity of 85.2% and specificity of 100%. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates a degree of vagus nerve atrophy in patients with diabetes. This finding may have relevance in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetic neuropathy if further validated.
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Tawfik et al. (2017) conducted a case-control in Diabetes mellitus (n=74). Diabetes vs. Healthy volunteers was evaluated on Cross-sectional area of the vagus nerve (AUC 0.96). Diagnostic ultrasound revealed a significantly smaller mean cross-sectional area of the vagus nerve in patients with diabetes, with a cutoff of 3 mm2 providing 85.2% sensitivity and 100% specificity.
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