Assessment of Peripheral Nerves With Shear Wave Elastography in Type 1 Diabetic Adolescents Without Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

Objectives: To investigate the utility of shear wave elastography (SWE) in detecting morphologic abnormalities of the median nerve and posterior tibial nerve in transverse and longitudinal axes in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) without diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).

Methods: The median nerves and posterior tibial nerves of 25 adolescents with diagnosis and follow-up of type 1 DM without DPN and 32 healthy volunteers were evaluated with SWE by 2 observers on the transverse and longitudinal axes. The cross-sectional area and thickness of the nerves and disease duration were noted, and probable associations of these parameters with SWE features were analyzed. Interobserver and intraobserver correlations were also examined. The statistical significance level was set at P < .05.

Results: Both the median nerve and posterior tibial nerve were smaller, thinner, and stiffer in the patient group for both observers on both axes. The disease duration weakly correlated with median nerve SWE features (r = 0.245-0391). The thickness and cross-sectional area had no correlations with SWE features.

Conclusions: The median nerve and posterior tibial nerve in adolescents with type 1 DM without DPN have morphologic abnormalities that can be displayed by SWE regardless of the imaging axis. Shear wave elastography may have a potential role in subclinical DPN, but the reliability of the findings is not as high as desirable.