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Dynamic F wave study in patients suffering from peripheral arterial occlusive disease
Author(s) -
Argyriou A. A.,
Tsolakis I.,
Papadoulas S.,
Polychronopoulos P.,
Gourzis P.,
Chroni E.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2006.00725.x
Subject(s) - f wave , medicine , peripheral , context (archaeology) , latency (audio) , cardiology , nerve conduction , neurophysiology , tibial nerve , peripheral neuropathy , surgery , nerve conduction velocity , stimulation , diabetes mellitus , endocrinology , paleontology , psychiatry , electrical engineering , biology , engineering
Objective – To prospectively detect significant transient F wave abnormalities obtained after exercise in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and to assess the potential diagnostic sensitivity of dynamic F wave study in such a context. Patients and methods – A series of 40 electrical stimuli were delivered to the peroneal and the posterior tibial nerves of 25 patients with PAD in order to obtain F waves at rest and post‐exercise. The following variables were estimated and the obtained pre‐ and post‐exercise data were compared: F persistence, F wave latency, amplitude, duration and F chronodispersion. For each nerve studied, the minimum, average and maximum values were calculated. Conventional electrophysiological data were also collected pre‐ and post‐exercise and the data obtained were also compared. Twenty‐five healthy age‐, gender‐ and height‐matched individuals served as controls. Results – No evidence of conventional nerve conduction abnormalities was recorded either pre‐ or post‐exercise in the group of patients. As regards the peroneal nerve, the significantly reduced F wave persistence ( P = 0.007) and maximum F wave amplitude post‐ as opposed to pre‐exercise ( P = 0.05)‐ were the main findings to emerge. The average ( P = 0.017) and the minimum duration ( P = 0.005) of tibial F waves were also significantly increased post‐ compared with pre‐exercise. Insignificant differences were observed between pre‐ and post‐exercise neurophysiological and F wave values in the group of controls. Conclusion – Given the observed absence of conventional neurophysiological abnormalities, the detection of dynamic F wave changes supports the view of an increased diagnostic sensitivity of this method in patients with mild PAD.