ArticleInfectious diseases of poverty2017
Early detection of neuropathy in leprosy: a comparison of five tests for field settings.
Article in Infectious diseases of poverty, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Innovative strategies for diabetic peripheral neuropathy: From clinical management to emerging bioengineering solutions.Bioactive materials · 2026Review
- Article
- Assessment of neuropathic pain in leprosy patients with relapse or treatment failure by infrared thermography: A cross-sectional study.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Article
- Leprous Neuropathy: Observational Study Highlighting the Role of Electrophysiology in Early Diagnosis.Journal of neurosciences in rural practice · 2021Article
- Statins and Neuropathic Pain: A Narrative Review.Pain and therapy · 2020Review
- Instruments of Choice for Assessment and Monitoring Diabetic Foot: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Review
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEarly detection and treatment of neuropathy in leprosy is important to prevent disabilities. A recent study showed that the Nerve Conduction Studies (NCS) and Warm Detection Thresholds (WDT) tests can detect leprosy neuropathy the earliest. These two tests are not practical under field conditions, however, because they require climate-controlled rooms and highly trained staff and are expensive. We assessed the usefulness of alternative test methods and their sensitivity and specificity to detect neuropathy at an early stage.
methodsThrough a literature search we identified five alternative devices that appeared user-friendly, more affordable, portable and/or battery-operated: the Neuropad®, Vibratip™, NC-Stat®DPNCheck™, NeuroQuick and the Thermal Sensibility Tester (TST), assessing respectively sweat function, vibration sensation, nerve conduction, cold sensation and warm sensation. In leprosy patients in Bangladesh, the posterior tibial and sural nerves that tested normal for the monofilament test and voluntary muscle test were assessed with the NCS and WDT as reference standard tests. The alternative devices were then tested on 94 nerves with abnormal WDT and/or NCS results and on 94 unaffected nerves. Sensitivity and specificity were the main outcomes.
resultsThe NeuroQuick and the TST showed very good sensitivity and specificity. On the sural nerve, the NeuroQuick had both a sensitivity and a specificity of 86%. The TST had a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 82%. Both the NC-Stat®DPNCheck™ and Vibratip™ had a high specificity (88% and 100%), but a low sensitivity (16% and 0%). On the posterior tibial nerve, the NeuroQuick and the TST also showed good sensitivity, but the sensitivity was lower than for the sural nerve. The Neuropad® had a sensitivity of 56% and a specificity of 61%.
conclusionsThe NeuroQuick and TST are good candidates for further field-testing for reliability and reproducibility. The feasibility of production on a larger scale should be examined.
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