Open AccessThe characteristics of pain and dysesthesia in patients with diabetic polyneuropathy
Author(s) -
Sandra Sif Gylfadottir,
Mustapha Itani,
Alexander Gramm Kristensen,
Páll Karlsson,
Thomas Krøigård,
David L. Bennett,
Hatice Tankişi,
Niels Trolle Andersen,
Troels Staehelin Jensen,
Søren Hein Sindrup,
Nanna Brix Finnerup
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0263831
Subject(s) - dysesthesia , medicine , polyneuropathy , neuropathic pain , hypoesthesia , anesthesia , surgery
/aims Patients with diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) may experience paresthesia, dysesthesia, and pain. We aimed to characterize the predictors, symptoms, somatosensory profile, neuropathy severity, and impact of painful DPN and dysesthetic DPN. Methods This study was a cross-sectional study of type 2 diabetes patients with confirmed DPN, diagnosed using widely accepted methods including a clinical examination, skin biopsy, and nerve conduction studies. Findings Of 126 patients with confirmed DPN, 52 had DPN without pain or dysesthesia, 21 had dysesthetic DPN, and 53 painful DPN. Patients with painful DPN were less physically active and suffered from more pain elsewhere than in the feet compared to patients with DPN without pain. Patients with painful DPN had the largest loss of small and large sensory fiber function, and there was a gradient of larger spatial distribution of sensory loss from DPN without dysesthesia/pain to dysesthetic DPN and to painful DPN. This could indicate that patients with dysesthesia had more severe neuropathy than patients without dysesthesia but less than patients with painful DPN. Patients with dysesthetic and painful DPN had higher symptom scores for depression and fatigue than those without dysesthesia/pain with no difference between dysesthetic and painful DPN. Conclusions There was a gradient of increasing sensory loss from DPN without dysesthesia/pain to dysesthetic DPN and to painful DPN. Pain and dysesthesia are common in DPN and both interfere with daily life. It is therefore important to consider dysesthesia when diagnosing and treating patients with neuropathy.