Application value of conventional ultrasound and real-time shear wave elastography in patients with type 2 diabetic polyneuropathy

• Published in: European journal of radiology 2020-05, Vol.126, p.108965-108965, Article 108965
• Main Authors: Chen, Rui, Wang, Xiao-Lei, Xue, Wei-Li, Sun, Jia-Wei, Dong, Xue-Ying, Jiang, Zhao-Peng, Wu, Han, Ma, Rao, Zhou, Xian-Li
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Application value; Conventional ultrasound; Diabetic polyneuropathy; Shear wave elastography
• ISSN: 0720-048X; 1872-7727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2020.108965

•Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) can involve tibial and common peroneal nerve.•Ultrasound features and stiffness of nerve had changed before DPN appeared.•The stiffness of tibial nerve can better diagnose DPN than conventional ultrasound.•Our results can provide more information for clinical treatment. To explore the application value of conventional ultrasound and real-time shear wave elastography (SWE) to the tibial nerve (TN) and the common peroneal nerve (CPN) in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). Thirty-three healthy volunteers, 33 diabetic patients without DPN, and 30 diabetic patients with DPN were enrolled in this study. The anteroposterior diameter (APD), the cross-sectional area (CSA), and the perimeter of the TN and the CPN were measured by conventional ultrasound, and the stiffness of the nerves was measured by SWE. The conventional ultrasound parameters and stiffness of the TN in patients with DPN were significantly larger than those of the other two groups (P