Yonago Acta medica 2010;53:059–064
Current Perception Threshold for Assessment of
the Neurological Components of Hand-Arm Vibration
Syndrome: A Review
Youichi Kurozawa, Takenobu Hosoda and Yoshiro Nasu*
Division of Health Administration and Promotion, Department of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Yonago 683-8053 and *Clinical Research Center of Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome, San-in Rosai Hospital, Yonago 683-8605, Japan
Current perception threshold (CPT) has been proposed as a quantitative method for assessment of peripheral sensory nerve function. The aim of this review of selected reports is to provide an overview of CPT measurement for the assessment of the neurological component of hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). The CPT values at 2000 Hz significantly increased for patients with HAVS. This result supports the previous histological findings that demyelination is found predominantly in the peripheral nerves in the hands of men exposed to hand-arm vibration. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were high for severe cases of Stockholm sensorineural (SSN) stage 3 compared with non-exposed controls, but not high for mild cases of SSN stage 1 or 2 and for carpal tunnel syndrome associated with HAVS. However, there are only a few studies on the diagnostic validity of the CPT test for the neurological components of HAVS. Further research is needed and should include diagnostic validity and standardizing of measurement conditions such as skin temperature.
Key words: current perception threshold; hand-arm vibration syndrome; neurological symptoms
