Pr. Olmos et al., THE SEMMES-WEINSTEIN MONOFILAMENT AS A POTENTIAL PREDICTOR OF FOOT ULCERATION IN PATIENTS WITH NONINSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES, The American journal of the medical sciences, 309(2), 1995, pp. 76-82
The objective was to evaluate the Semmes-Weinstein monofilament as a p
otential predictor of foot ulceration. A case-control study was carrie
d out in a teaching hospital clinic specializing in diabetes and hyper
lipidemic disorders. Two groups of patients with noninsulin-dependent
diabetes mellitus were studied: 168 with no history of foot lesions (N
o-Ulcer group, aged 58.1 +/- 9.7 years, duration 11.5 +/- 7.8 years) a
nd 14 who had at least one foot ulceration during the last year (foot
ulcer group, aged 60.8 +/- 7.8 years', duration 17.1 +/- 10.5 years).
The authors defined and measured a ''monofilament index'' using a size
5.07 Semmes-Weinstein monofilament on three locations on each foot an
d then measured peroneal nerve current perception thresholds using the
Neurometer(R) at three frequencies: 5 Hz, 250 Hz, and 2,000 Hz. The m
onofilament index score was lower in patients in the foot ulcer group
than in patients in the No-Ulcer group (1.71 +/- 2.36 vs 5.21 +/- 1.81
, P < 0.001). A cutoff point at an index of 5 out of 6 yielded a sensi
tivity rate of 85.71% and a false-positive rate of 16.07%. The peronea
l nerve current perception threshold was higher (P < 0.005) in patient
s in the foot ulcer group than in patients in the No-Ulcer group for a
ll frequencies (605.8 +/- 414.6 vs 181.5 +/- 272.3 for 5 Hz; 743.2 +/-
361.7 vs 251.6 +/- 283.7 for 250 Hz; 859.4 +/- 220.2 vs 423.3 +/- 252
.6 for 2,000 Hz). For the Neurometer(R), the best combination of sensi
tivity rate (92.9%) and false-positive rate (26.2%) was attained at a
frequency of 2,000 Hz, with a cutoff point at 450 (4.5 mA). The author
s conclude that the monofilament index using the 5.07 Semmes-Weinstein
monofilament is inexpensive and a promising potential predictor for f
oot ulceration in patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
.