Evidence map›Paper›PMID 11459893›Full record

ArticleJournal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry2001

Diagnostic investigation of patients with chronic polyneuropathy: evaluation of a clinical guideline.

N R Rosenberg, P Portegies, M de Visser, M Vermeulen

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry, 2001. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
29citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 96 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Observational
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2023
    Review
  8. Diagnosis and management of patients with polyneuropathy.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2023
    Review
  9. Observational
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. The epidemiology and risk factors of chronic polyneuropathy.European journal of epidemiology · 2016
    Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

N R RosenbergDepartment of Neurology, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 22700, 1100 DE Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
P Portegies
M de Visser
M Vermeulen
University of Amsterdam · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objective(1) To evaluate a clinical guideline for the diagnostic investigation of patients presenting with signs and symptoms (present for longer than 6 weeks) suggesting a chronic polyneuropathy. (2) To investigate the contribution of electrophysiological studies to a focused search for aetiology in these patients.

methodsA chart review was carried out of a consecutive group of outpatients in 1993-7 at a university department of neurology, with signs and symptoms suggesting a polyneuropathy in whom the diagnostic investigation had been carried out according to a recently introduced guideline. Diagnostic tests were performed and final diagnoses were made.

resultsUnnecessary investigations were carried out in 108 (51%) of 213 patients and too few tests in 23 (11%) of these patients. In 82 (48%) of the 172 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria neurophysiological tests did not contribute to the final diagnosis. Neurophysiological criteria for demyelination were fulfilled in only 13 (8%) of the 172 patients.

conclusionIn patients presenting with signs and symptoms of chronic polyneuropathy the number of tests in the diagnostic investigation can be considerably reduced. In patients with signs and symptoms of polyneuropathy, providing the clinical phenotype is typical, in the presence of diabetes mellitus, renal failure, HIV infection, alcoholism, or use of potentially neurotoxic drugs further investigations are non-contributory. The significance of electrophysiological studies in the investigation of patients with polyneuropathy is rather to separate sensorimotor neuropathies from pure sensory neuropathies than to distinguish between demyelinating and axonal neuropathies.

Indexed as

Practice Guidelines as TopicChronic DiseaseElectromyographyEvaluation Studies as TopicHumansNeural ConductionPolyneuropathies

Identifiers

PMID11459893
PMCPMC1737522
OpenAlexW2140872899

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.