ASSESSMENT THE USE OF NERVE CONDUCTION STUDY IN CHEMOTHERAPY INDUCED PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY.

Neurotoxic side effects of chemotherapy are second in frequency to hematological toxicity. Unlike hematological side effects that can be treated with hematopoietic growth factors, neuropathies cannot be treated and protective treatment strategies have not been effective. The mechanism underlying chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is unknown. Metabolic changes resulting from the accumulation of the drug in the dorsal root ganglia cells, mitochondrial-mediated disregulation of Ca⁺⁺ homeostasis and dis-regulation of neurotrophins may contribute to the pathogenesis of CIPN.For the neurologist, the diagnosis of a chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy though is primarily based on case history and clinical presentation, the electrophysiological study; nerve conduction study (NCS) and electromyography (EMG) represent a valuable, useful and helpful test in the neurological evaluation of the types and grading of the severity of the neuropathy. Our objective is to evaluate role of neurophysiological test in the diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy in patient receiving chemotherapy. NCS was performed on 40 patients receiving chemotherapy with clinical diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy and 40 healthy controls. The result revealed a statistically significant prolongation in latency, reducing amplitude and slowing of conduction velocity in addition to EMG finding of spontaneous activity and large MUAPs for patient group (P <0.05). NCS plays an important role in the evaluation of chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy by determining the pathology and the distribution of the nerve fiber damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]