Usha Rani Pegu1, Rajib Kumar Borah
BACKGROUND
SLE (systemic lupus erythematous) is an autoimmune disease, which can lead to damage to any organ in the body mediated by tissue binding autoantibodies. It is not that uncommon in North Eastern part of India. Mainly, the female sex in their reproductive age group are affected. Of all the complications, neuropsychiatric complication is also a common manifestation of SLE. The aim of the study is to1. Find the incidence of peripheral neuropathy in SLE patients. 2. Its association with morbidity.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Patients were enrolled from 1st September 2010 to 31st August 2011 who attend the Department of Medicine, Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh. A total of 73 patients were enrolled. All patients were above 12 years of age. SLE was diagnosed by 1997 updated ACR criteria. Peripheral neuropathy was diagnosed via nerve conduction velocity test. RESULTS
Of the 73 patients, 39 patients had evidence of peripheral neuropathy. Of the 39 patients, 28 patients were asymptomatic. The remaining 11 symptomatic patients mainly complained of pins and needles in their feet and 2 additionally complained of tingling sensation in the lower limbs.
CONCLUSION
From the study, it is seen that the sural nerve is the most common nerve to be affected in SLE. So, doing Nerve Conduction Study (NCS) on the sural nerve singly could be taken as a screening test to diagnose peripheral neuropathy in SLE patients. But, as the number of patients in the study was less, a study with larger number of patients would be required to confirm that the sural nerve is the most common nerve to be affected in SLE.
