Autonomic surface potential analysis: Assessment of reproducibility and sensitivity

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1992

Abstract

There has been recent interest in measuring sympathetic sudomotor function by autonomic surface potential analysis. The purpose of the present study was to assess factors affecting the reproducibility of the test. We determined the within-day and between-day reproducibility in 24 healthy volunteers. We used an increasing rather than a constant electrical stimulus to minimize habituation. The amplitudes were still highly variable (an average within-day coefficient of variation in the soles of 35%). Habituation did not, however, affect the latencies of the responses, which were much more reproducible (an average within-day coefficient of variation in the soles of 8%). Studies of between-day reproducibility revealed that the mean amplitudes were lower on day 2 vs. day 1 (0.706 ± 0.10 vs. 0.85 ± 0.10 mV in the soles, P < 0.01) but the mean latencies were similar on the different testing days (2.09 ± .04 seconds for the soles on day 1 vs. 2.16 ± .05 seconds on day 2). We also assessed the sensitivity of surface potential analysis and report the results of testing 35 patients with far advanced autonomic neuropathy.

Publication Title

Muscle and Nerve

Volume

15

Issue

8

First Page

926

Last Page

931

Comments

This article was published in Muscle and Nerve, Volume 15, Issue 8, Pages 926-931.

The published version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mus.880150810.

Copyright © 1992.

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