Clinical usefulness of the two-site Semmes-Weinstein monofilament test for detecting diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Full Abstract

The present study was done to validate the two-site Semmes-Weinstein (SW) monofilament test in identifying patients at risk of lower-extremity complications in clinical setting. The SW monofilament test and nerve conduction study were conducted on type 2 diabetic patients (n=37) at Pusan National University Hospital in Korea. As the duration of diabetes mellitus was longer, neuropathy identified by nerve conduction study and complications of diabetes were more severe (p<0.01). The number of sites unable to perceive SW monofilament (p<0.001) was larger in patients with lower-extremity neuropathy symptoms than those without symptoms. Sensitivity and specificity at two sites (the third and fifth metatarsal head sites) were 93% and 100%, respectively. In conclusion, the two-site SW monofilament test was a sensitive, specific, simple, and inexpensive screening tool for identifying diabetic peripheral neuropathy in clinical setting.

Author information

Author/s: Lee, Sangyeoup (S); Kim, Hyeunho (H); Choi, Sanghan (S); Park, Yongsoon (Y); Kim, Yunjin (Y); Cho, Byeungman (B);

Affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Pusan National University, University Hospital, 1-10 Ami-dong, Seo-gu, Busan 602-739, Korea. saylee(-atsign-)pusan.ac.kr

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Evaluation Studies; Journal Article

Journal: Journal of Korean medical science (J Korean Med Sci), published in Korea (South). (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Feb; vol 18 (issue 1) : pp 103-7

Dates: Created 2003/02/17; Completed 2003/10/14; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12589096, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

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