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Diagnostic Ultrasound of the Vagus Nerve in Patients with Diabetes
Author(s) -
Tawfik Eman A.,
Walker Francis O.,
Cartwright Michael S.,
ElHilaly Rana A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of neuroimaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1552-6569
pISSN - 1051-2284
DOI - 10.1111/jon.12452
Subject(s) - medicine , vagus nerve , diabetes mellitus , vagus nerve stimulation , complication , diabetic neuropathy , autonomic neuropathy , ultrasound , receiver operating characteristic , anesthesia , radiology , endocrinology , stimulation , biology , cell culture , genetics , neuroblastoma
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 mm 2 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.