Neurophysiological examination of dorsal sural nerve

Introduction: Nerve conduction study of the dorsal sural nerve (DSN) has been reported to be a sensitive method for early detection of peripheral neuropathies. However, normal reference values are scarce and vary greatly among the different studies. Methods: A comprehensive neurophysiological study, including nerve conduction velocity (NCV) and sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) recording, was performed in 294 healthy subjects (2186 years) with no evidence of neuropathy. Results: The amplitude of the DSN SNAP ranged from 2.50 to 15.90 mu V, and NCV ranged from 28.9 to 52.8 m/s. A significant age-related decrease in DSN SNAP amplitude and NCV was observed. The mean ratio of sural NCV to DSN NCV was 1.33 +/- 0.19, and the mean ratio of sural nerve SNAP amplitude to DSN SNAP amplitude was 3.17 +/- 1.33. Conclusion: These normative data of the DSN might be used as reference values for the study of this very distal peripheral nerve. Muscle Nerve 46: 895-898, 2012