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Longitudinal follow‐up of biopsy‐proven small fiber neuropathy
Author(s) -
MacDonald Steven,
Sharma Tara L.,
Li Jianbo,
Polston David,
Li Yuebing
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.26648
Subject(s) - medicine , neuropathic pain , biopsy , peripheral neuropathy , retrospective cohort study , surgery , anesthesia , diabetes mellitus , endocrinology
Little is published on the prognosis of small fiber neuropathy (SFN). Methods A retrospective analysis of 101 patients with biopsy proven SFN. Results Study participants included 87 patients with length‐dependent SFN and 14 patients with non–length‐dependent SFN. The average duration of symptoms was 3.2 years prior to SFN diagnosis, and the average follow‐up duration after diagnosis was 6.2 years. Neuropathic pain was present in 98% of patients and in 84.2% of patients at the final visit. The average total number of pain medications ever used was 4.4 per patient. Signs of autonomic dysfunction were initially present in 24.8% of patients, but improved in most. Large fiber involvement was seen in 11.9% of patients. Small fiber neuropathy affected employment and ambulation status in 5.3% and 6.3% of patients, respectively. Discussion Small fiber neuropathy tends to be stable and rarely affects ambulation and employment status. Effective pain control remains a challenge.