Staging of diabetic polyneuropathy

Uniform criteria are necessary for the diagnosis and staging of diabetic ne uropathy. In 1988 the San Antonio Consensus Conference on Diabetic Neuropat hy recommended the assessment of five diagnostic categories: neuropathic sy mptoms, neuropathic deficits, pathologic nerve conduction studies, patholog ic quantitative sensory examinations and pathologic quantitative autonomic examination. The "Rochester Diabetic Neuropathy Study" (RDNS)-group recomme nded to base the diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy on pathologic findings in at least two of these five categories. We review present the minimal diagn ostic criteria required to define abnormality for each of these categories. Clinical parameters as well as various scores, e.g. the Neuropathy Impairm ent Score, Neuropathy Dis ability Score, and Neuropathy Symptom Score are d iscussed. An easily applicable tool to stage polyneuropathy is the Erlangen Neuropathy Assessment Questionnaire.