Ultrasonic Evaluation of Muscle Echogenicity in the Lower Limbs for the Detection of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

Sally  H. Abdulkareem; Abdulnasir  H. Ameer

doi:10.18502/fbt.v11i3.15889

Sally H. Abdulkareem Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Iraq
Abdulnasir H. Ameer Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Iraq

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/fbt.v11i3.15889

Keywords: Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy; Muscle Ultrasound; Echo Intensity; Nerve Conduction Study; Greyscale Analysis.

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to test the ability of high-frequency muscle ultrasound in detecting changes in muscle Echo Intensity (EI) in patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and to correlate muscle ultrasonography findings with Nerve Conduction study (NCS) parameters in those patients. Additionally, we aimed to assess the usefulness of muscle ultrasound in diagnosing diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 26 diabetic patients with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) and 25 controls were enrolled. Among the controls, 15 were healthy individuals, and the remaining 10 were diabetic patients without DPN. All participants underwent Nerve Conduction Studies (NCS) of the peroneal and tibial motor nerves, as well as quantitative muscle ultrasound. Ultrasound (US) images of the Abductor Hallucis (AH) muscle, Tibialis Anterior (TA) muscle, and Rectus Femoris (RF) muscle were taken and analyzed using grayscale analysis to measure quantitative Echo Intensity (EI). A comparison between the groups regarding EI was made, and correlations between NCS and quantitative US results were assessed.

Results: Our Study unveiled a statistically significant augmentation in muscular EI within two of the scrutinized muscle groups among individuals afflicted by DPN, relative to the control cohorts. Moreover, a noteworthy correlation was discerned between the parameters of NCS and muscular EI.

Conclusion: Quantitating muscle EI using grayscale analysis of US images is a useful supplementary test for the detection of DPN.