Thermography as Method of Paraclinic Diagnosis in Diabetic Polyneuropathy

Abstract

The concept of polyneuropathy comprises the etiological diversity of neurological syndromes characterized by the formation of bilateral and symmetrical lesions of limb peripheral nerves; symmetrical distal sensory-motor polyneuropathy is the most common form of diabetic neuropathy; it is the most frequent chronic complication of diabetes and more than half of the patients make this complication throughout their lives, both pathogenetic mechanisms and epidemiology, its diagnosis and treatment generate many controversy and challenges for both researchers and practitioners. The study batch consisted of 40 diabetic patients admitted to the Neurology Clinic of the Clinical Recovery Hospital and the Diabetes Clinic between January 2014 and December 2018 who were diagnosed according to clinical and electrophysiological criteria, the etiology of which was type II diabetes with a history of more than 5 years of development and who were examined the lower limb skin according to the local protocol. Thermography is already used as a diagnostic and monitoring tool for patients suffering from neuropathies, especially in the case of complex regional pain syndrome (sympathetic reflex dystrophy) and in our case of diabetic polyneuropathy. This non-invasive exploration has great potential for future research on its use in the diagnosis of other neurological diseases involving the peripheral nervous system. Medical imaging analysis provides a useful way to diagnose and monitor multiple physical illnesses; infrared imaging provides information about infrared energy from the surface of the skin. Emission of infrared radiation changes after nerve damage and vascular occlusions.