A comparison between two methods of aesthesiometric assessment in patientswith hand-arm vibration syndrome

Hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) is caused by prolonged exposure to vibra tion. The diagnosis and assessment of disease severity are subjective at pr esent. The aim of this study was to determine sensorineural dysfunction in patients with HAVS using two methods of aesthesiometric assessment. We recr uited three groups of age-matched subjects: 20 subjects diagnosed as having HAVS, 15 manual workers and 15 sedentary workers. We measured both two-poi nt discrimination and depth sense perception using an aesthesiometer; We fo und that the two-point discrimination wheel was more accurate than the dept h sense perception wheel at detecting levels of sensorineural dysfunction i n subjects with HAVS. The increased sensitivity of the two-point disc would suggest that it should be used in preference to the depth sense disc for t he assessment of sensorineural dysfunction in patients with HAVS.