Korean J Clin Neurophysiol.  2013 Dec;15(2):48-52. 10.14253/kjcn.2013.15.2.48.

Clinical and Electrophysiological Characteristics of Meralgia Paresthetica

• Choi MH
• Park H
• Eom YI
• Joo IS

• KMID: 1863273
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14253/kjcn.2013.15.2.48

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Meralgia paresthetica (MP) is a mononeuropathy affecting the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. The disease is often diagnosed clinically, but electrophysiological tests play an important role. The aim of this study is to clarify clinical characteristics of MP as well as the role of sensory nerve conduction study (NCS) in the diagnosis of MP.
METHODS
Sixty-five consecutive patients with clinical diagnosis of MP between March 2001 and June 2012 were retrospectively reviewed at a single tertiary center. General demographics, clinical characteristics and sensory NCS findings were investigated. Measurements of sensory NCS included the baseline-to-peak amplitude, side-to-side amplitude ratio and the conduction velocity. To compare between the normal and abnormal NCS groups, independent t-tests and chi-square test were performed.
RESULTS
Sixty-five patients had male predominance (56.9%) with mean age of 48.4+/-13.4 years (range: 16-75). Seven patients (13.5%) had undergone operation or procedure before the symptom onset. The sensory nerve action potentials were obtainable in 52 (80%) of 65 clinically diagnosed MP patients. Sensory NCS revealed abnormalities in 38 patients (73.1%), and others (n=14, 26.9%) showed normal findings. Between the normal and abnormal NCS groups, there is no statistically significant difference on demographics or clinical features.
CONCLUSIONS
We clarify the clinical features and sensory NCS findings of MP patients. Due to several limitations of sensory NCS, the diagnosis of MP could be accomplished both clinically and electrophysiologically.

Keyword

Meralgia paresthetica; Lateral femoral cutaneous nerve; Nerve conduction study

MeSH Terms

Action Potentials
Chi-Square Distribution
Demography
Diagnosis
Humans
Male
Mononeuropathies
Neural Conduction
Retrospective Studies

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